Let Laughter Cease
by Alex Breen
Summary: This is a story about Jace and Clary's daughter, Julia. Her parents and others connected to them have disappeared. Julia knows who took them but won't tell.  Better than it sounds, give it a chance!
1. Change

She opened the door and slowly walked down the hall. The first few people looked up. Soon whispers followed her down the hall, but she continued to walk keeping her head up. Even the walls of the school were beautiful. She had visited Idris before, but to live here was something else. She had been here only for a week, and even with the weight of what had forced her to be here bearing on her, she could not help but marvel at the beauty of everything around her. The room she was searching for was easy to find. It was straight down the main hall and to the left just as George Meadhaven had directed her. She opened the door to find several people inside, all dressed in their gear. An older gentleman approached her.

"You must be Julia?" he asked. "I am Brady Halloway. You will refer to me as instructor or Mr. Halloway. I am the fighting instructor, which you will have every morning. I was told you would be coming." Julia nodded, unable to answer. "Now, if you would come over and indicated which weapons you are trained in in at least any amount, that would be marvelous." She followed him to the row of weapons, conscious that everyone was staring at her. The room was large, like a high school gym without the basketball nets and court lines. The walls were a pale ivory, almost indistinguishable from white. The weapons were pushed against a wall, various types lined by size. There were seraph blades and long knives, chagrins, and throwing knives. She gestured her arm out indicating them all. "Are you to tell me that you are trained in all these weapons?" Mr. Halloway asked. Julia nodded.

"Doubtful," someone stated from behind her. She turned around to see a boy her age staring at her. He was beautiful. His golden eyes stared at her with curiosity. His hair was a soft brown, not too short, but not too long. "I'm Jacob Fireblade. My friends call me Jake," he said holding his hand out to her. It was rough and sturdy, the hand of a fighter. She took his hand but did not respond. He looked at her quizzically. Something about him made her heart beat faster and she immediately pulled her hand out of his and looked away. "Julia Herondale it must be?" he asked. "Too good to speak to one of us lesser Shadowhunters?" his voice was scornful, but his expression remained just as curious. Mr. Halloway was about to say something, but another student shouted for his help and he stared at the two of them before rushing over to help. Jake looked as if he was about to say something so she immediately turned away. She grabbed a long handled knife and began to twirl it. To her dismay, Jake followed her.

"You really know how to use all of these weapons?" he asked. She did not answer. She wanted to tell him to return to his friends. To let her and her tortured soul alone, but she could not. She couldn't say a word.

She was spared however by Mr. Halloway rushing back over. "Jacob, please join the rest of the group. You will all be working on knife throwing again today while I attempt to discover Julia's level on each weapon." Jake gave her one last glance and then went over to the group. She had a strong yearning to talk to him. To get to know him, but as the desire to speak came, so did the itching of the rune on her chest. The matrix of line and swirls hidden behind her gear kept her from saying the words she very much wanted to. She spent the class showing her skill with each weapon. At some she was a master, at others she had some difficulty. But Mr. Halloway praised her claiming she was advanced far beyond her level, and possibly matched some of the best Shadowhunters out there with her extensive knowledge of weapon use. She smiled lightly at the praise, but was grim. Using the weapons brought images of her life. She recalled the first time she had held a seraph blade. Out in the yard by the manorhouse, her father instructing her on how to hold the weapon and what it's uses were. His sterness when she swung it at a passing butterfly…

"So what's a guy gotta do around here to get you to speak to him?" Jake asked. She had hoped to leave the room unnoticed, but he had infuriatingly noticed and came to walk with her. She did not respond of course. "Come on," he said. "As pretty as you are, you must have a voice to match."

Julia stopped walking. He had just called her pretty. She had never thought about herself much in the ways of appearance. Her mom was beautiful with her fiery red hair. She had inherited most of her father's features though. Her dirty blonde hair, her golden eyes, even her nose were gifts from her father. The only noticeable feature of her mother's was her rounded cheeks, but even her father's angular structure took away from the roundness and left her somewhere in between. Both her parents were good looking, but she had never thought of herself as such.

"Was it something I said?" Jake asked staring at her in confusion. She gave him a wild look; something between being about to burst into laughter and having just witnessed someone dying, before she ran off in another direction leaving him standing confused and alone.

* * *

><p>"Hey James," Jake said approaching his best friend since he was five, and also his parabati.<p>

"Hey Jake," James responded turning away from the girl he was speaking to. She seemed to take it as the end of a conversation and left after greeting Jake.

They talked for a minute and then Jake found an opening for the question he so desired to ask. "So what's with the new girl?" He tried to make it as nonchalant as possible but could hear the desire to know in his own voice.

"What makes you think I know anything about her?" James asked, smiling.

"Because you know everything."

James weighed messing around with Jake a little bit before telling him anything but decided against it. "She's Julia Herondale, the daughter of Jace and Clary Herondale."

"Yes, I know that," Jake responded impatiently.

"About a week ago, her parents went missing. They had asked for assistance to their manorhouse, but by the time the Shadowhunters arrived, Julia was unconscious in the library. Rumor has it several others with close connections to her parents have also gone missing. Including Isabelle and Alec Lightwood."

"Why did they all go missing?"

"No one knows. Well perhaps Julia does, but she's not telling anyone anytime soon."

"Why not?" Jake asked.

"She has a silencing ruin on her chest. The strongest the Clave has ever seen. They do not know how long it will last. They don't think it's permanent, but it doesn't seem to be fading at all."

"That explains so much," Jake responded. Of course she would not talk to him. She could not.

"You've met?" James asked.

"She's in my weapons training," Jake responded. James did not respond but one was not necessary. "She knew how to use every weapon in the room. Every weapon! Is that not crazy?" he asked. "I've barely moved on to chagrins and I'm the best in the class."

"Not surprising at all seeing as who her parents were. Well her father at least."

"True," Jake responded. "I'm going to go find her."

* * *

><p>He did not in fact go to find her. He moved on to his next class. Latin. It was his least favorite, but he understood the importance. He did find her later quite by accident as he entered the library looking for a book. She was curled in a ball on the couch by the giant window. He approached her slowly not wanting to disrupt her. But she looked up as he neared her.<p>

"Hi," he said. She just looked at him. He had momentarily forgotten she could not speak. He wondered what her voice sounded like. It was probably very sweet. He imagined it to be like honey. Smooth and flowing like it just rolls off her tongue. "What're you reading?" he asked.

She held up the book. The title was written in a language he had never read. It said A Fekete Varos and underneath that Kalman Mikszath. "What is that?" he asked, but once again remembered she could not answer. He looked around and saw paper and a pen nearby. He grabbed it and handed it to her. "You could have found some way to tell me you couldn't speak," he added, but kindly.

She wrote: _It's not as easy as you think. _

_It's Hungarian. It means The Black City._

"You read Hungarian?" he asked. She nodded.

"How many other languages do you know?" he asked. She knew how to use every weapon and could speak Hungarian? Who was this girl?

_12_, she wrote.

"Twelve?" he asked, his voice incredulous. "Twelve languages?"

_Monday was Italian and Spanish, Tuesday was Hungarian and Romanian, Wednesday was Chinese and Japanese, Thursday was French and Bulgarian, and Friday was Latin and learning English sentence structures and stuff, Saturday was German and Russian._

"Nothing on Sunday?" he asked, amused.

_Sundays were for learning more common demonic languages._

"Plus you're trained in all weapons by the time your 16. Doesn't sound like a very appealing childhood," he said. Her expression went from friendly to bitter immediately.

_I had a great childhood, _she scribbled.

"I didn't mean to offend you," he said afraid she was angered, "It just seems like a lot for someone so young."

_I'm not younger than you_

"A year actually, but that's what I'm saying. I can scarcely speak Latin. I do know Italian, and I know how to use about 6 weapons. And I've trained six days a week since I was 5. I cannot imagine how you can learn so much, let alone be good at it. You must be fluent in Hungarian if you can comfortably read a book written in that language."

Her expression softened. _It was tough, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My father trained me to be what I am, but I had loving parents and friends all the same. Well, family friends_

He noticed her expression turned sad at the end. He tried to remember that she had just lost everyone she had known a week ago. "I'm sorry," he said. She looked at him with surprise. "I haven't been sympathetic to your situation at all. I have been rude and forward and I apologize. It cannot be easy for you being here, let alone the fact that you cannot speak. If you will allow me, I will become your personal guide to this place."

She glanced at him with curiosity. Then she took the piece of paper she had written on, put it in the book and got up. She smiled and grabbed his arm dragging him with her. She put the book on a shelf and then gestured around as if to say, _show me._ He liked her smile. It went all the way up into her eyes and set off a flutter in his heart. He laughed at her eagerness. "Maybe you should bring the pen and paper. Just in case." She silently laughed and quickly went to retrieve it.

He took her on a tour of the entire school. Beyond its walls you could see the glass towers gleaming around Idris. He showed her the buildings, where certain rooms were. She would already know where the dormitories were. He took her on a walk across the grounds, the green fields with little hills. They were standing at the stables. Her admiring one of the horses and him admiring her. She turned to him smiling. He did not know what it was about this girl but she was taking his breath away every time she moved. "Come on," he said holding his hand out. "I want to show you something."

They were standing at the far end of a field. In front of her Julia saw an enormous tree. The branches were intertwined with each other almost as if someone had shaped it over the years. It wasn't exactly a beautiful looking tree, but she could not look away from its gracefulness. "This is my favorite spot to come. None of my friend's come here. They think it's a blip on the land and should be taken down. But this spot right here fits perfectly with my body. It's where I come to think and just relax," he confided. She smiled down on him. Her heart was beating rapidly. She had met this boy just this morning, and yet she already felt comfortable with him. He didn't seem to mind her either even though she couldn't say a word. She internally sighed. It was so hard not to speak! But then again, if she could not speak then she could not tell what happened.

They walked slowly back to the school him telling her stories of growing up in Alicante, the main city. She was smiling almost the entire time back. She did not think she would be smiling so much this soon after that night…

Her smile cut off almost as soon as they reached the school. Two men were standing right inside the entrance speaking quietly with each other. She slowed her walk and tensed slightly.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked, looking at her. "Do you know them?" he continued, following her gaze. She nodded. At that moment they seemed to notice her presence.

"They you are," one of the men said coming over to them. "We have been looking everywhere for you Julia." She took a step away from him subconsciously. "Now don't be like that," he said, his calm voice masking his anger. He grabbed an arm out for her but she moved quickly away, quicker than Jake had ever seen any Shadowhunter move. "Julia," the man said, his voice angry now. "This is not a game. You have been summoned for questioning. The council has decided that despite the er unfortunate circumstance of your voice, the information you could provide would be invaluable. You must have some information about what happened a week ago. The Silent Brothers are on their way. Please come peacefully or it will be worse for you in the long run." Julia stood stubbornly staring at him.

"Julia," the other man said, his voice much softer than the other's. "I doubt your parents would want you to resist us right now. They would want you to cooperate would they not?"

She pulled the paper and pen out of her pocket. _We have no way of knowing that now do we?_

"Do not be stubborn Julia," he said. "Unless you're hiding something." She tensed again but so slightly Jake thought he was the only one who noticed it.

"You do not have an option Julia," the other man said. "Just come with us. The school has already been informed you will be gone the rest of the day."

She felt like a trapped animal. She would betray a secret her parents had kept for years. But what could she do. She did want to find them didn't she? Her mind debated back and forth but she knew she really had no option. She nodded in resignation and followed them waving a goodbye to Jake and giving him a small smile in thanks for the day.

They led her out of the school. Near the gate three horses were waiting for them. She expertly climbed onto one of them and followed them out of the city. Their ride was nearly a half an hour. They arrived at a building she remembered as one of the council buildings. They dismounted and handed their horses off to several men standing by. She was led down a narrow hallway and through a door on the left. The hall was made of a grim gray stone and made the hallway feel even narrower. Her heart was beating rapidly but she kept a mask of grim detachment on her face. At the end of the hall was a thick wooden door. They opened the door and gestured for her to go in. She hesitated for a moment fearing it was some kind of a trap for her, but then figured it did not matter either way and went it.

The room was dark and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the light. But once they had she stared in shock. Someone was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room, their arms wrapped in chains holding them to the chair. The person lifted their head to look at her and she gasped. _Simon?_ She thought.


	2. Questioning

Jake stepped into the main hallway of the school. He was about to round the corner when he heard a man and a woman arguing. "…exactly like her father. She has Jace's arrogance, his natural Shadowhunting skill. She's even a spitting image, only in female form," the man was saying. "I don't know if she inherited anything from her mother."

"You say this with spite. Her father was not a bad man," the woman said. "Do not let old hatreds cloud your judgment. And do not let your views of the parents reflect on the child."

"Just one parent," the man said. "Jace Herondale was not a good man. Whatever caused them to disappear was probably something he was wrapped up in. And letting his daughter stay here! With that odd silencing rune! She should be in the cells under the Silent City if you ask me."

"How can you say such a thing? She is just a girl! And a good Shadowhunter to boot. As to the silencing rune, I feel bad for the thing. Perhaps she knows something, perhaps she doesn't. Either way the Silent Brothers can figure it out. But that much happening to her and not being able to talk about it! The poor thing."

"Well, let us just agree to disagree on the matter for now Marge. We are late for out meeting."

She agreed and the two went off leaving Jake confused.

He went back to the library. He had to do research on the history on Archdemons. He sat there staring at the books in front of him, but was not reading the words. He could not stop thinking about Julia. He speculated on what the man and woman had been discussing but worried more about where Julia was now and what was happening to her. Her reaction to those men made it seem as if she knew them, and she did not seem pleased to go with them. Maybe she really did know something about what happened to her parents.

* * *

><p>Julia shot a look to Simon as if to say, <em>What the hell are you doing here?<em> She started to move toward him but strong hands held her back. She knew she could wriggle her way free of them but then what would she do? It would accomplish nothing. Simon returned the glance, his expression grim. His face was gaunt and paler than usual. There were veins, very slightly, but noticeably popping out. She was confused. She thought he had somehow been taken by the others. She opened her mouth to speak momentarily forgetting that she could not speak. He shook her head slightly as if to say "No, don't say anything." He must not know that she could not anyways.

"The bloodsucker is here, as are you, to answer our questions," one of the men said. She looked at Simon again. His dark brown hair was swept to the side. The mark on his forehead was prominent. "Yes, the mark," the man said. "I bet you are wondering how we were able to get Simon here, and tied up like this. Curious thing, the mark. It only affects the person if they intend harm. The intent is more important than the action itself." Julia turned around to look at the man in bewilderment. Even if that was true, how could you tie up someone without meaning them harm? And how did they capture him in the first place? His being there only raised countless questions. The man was frowning now, "Unfortunately we have not yet been able to get any information from him. He is especially resistant to a shortage of blood. And we cannot hope to hurt him without being blown to pieces." Julia shuddered at the thought. She was angered though. Shadowhunters should not be torturing downworlders for information.

"Anyways, we wanted to show you that it would be unwise to resist us. Simon was especially difficult to catch but we are clever. We will get what we want."

"Don't say a word Julia," she heard Simon say.

"Keep quiet!" the other man said.

"Or what?" Simon said.

"Or perhaps our methods with Julia may not be so subtle," he said. Julia grew rigid. They had just threatened to harm her if Simon did not cooperate.

"Now," one of the men said leading her over to a chair parallel to Simon's but far enough away she could not touch him. "You recognized us but do you know who we are?" Julia shook her head. "I'm Damon," he said, "and this is Harvey." Damon was taller, his hair a dark brown, it was almost black. His eyes were almost so black they matched Simon's. Harvey was only a few inches taller than Julia herself. His hair was a soft brown and his eyes matched. Of the two he looked more friendly.

She did recognize the two men when she saw them. They were investigators of Shadowhunter crimes. She looked at them with distaste. She remembered them stopping by the house when she was younger, but for what she could not remember. "You were nervous when you saw us Julia. What crime have you committed?" Damon asked.

Julia pulled out her pen and paper. _What are you accusing me of?_

"You are being accused of nothing. We are merely investigating the disappearances of Jace and Clary Herondale, or Lightwood, whichever you would prefer to use, Isabelle Lightwood, Alec Lightwood, and several other Shadowhunters well-connected with them."

_What about Magnus?_

"What makes you think he is missing?" Damon asked.

Julia shrugged. _He hasn't contacted me._

"And do you talk to him on a regular basis?" Harvey asked.

_Only when Alec's around usually. But I think given the circumstances he would have contacted me._

"Perhaps he is missing then," Damon responded thoughtful. "We shall look into it."

"Magnus is not our concern," Harvey said.

"We will look into it," Damon repeated, his voice changing a little bit. Julia wondered if he had more authority. Whatever the case Harvey did not press the matter. "Now tell us," Damon continued, "Or rather, write for us. What happened the night your parents went missing?"

"What did you do to her?" Simon's voice cut in. He sounded angry. "Why is she writing? Why can't she speak?" She looked over at Simon. He looked ready to tear off the chains holding him down. He was probably too weak though.

"We did nothing to her, so calm yourself," Harvey said. Both men were frowning.

"She was like that when we found her," Damon said.

Julia was still deciding what to do. She sat with her pen poised above the paper. She very badly wanted her parents to be found. Should she tell the Shadowhunters what she knows and let them find her parents while betraying a secret her parents had kept for years. In her mind the option was clear. There was no debate. She wanted her parents back. Although she was sure they could fend for themselves for a time, there was only so long they could hold out. The life of her parents and their friends greatly outweighed the desire to keep their secret. Yet still she hesitated. She could hear in her mind the last words her father whispered to her before running out to face _him_. The last words before she had been knocked unconscious: "Don't tell anyone. You're on your own, but I have faith in you. We love you Ju." She put the pen down. She knew her parents wanted it to be kept a secret, but given the circumstances…no, she told herself. Even though the Silent Brothers would be able to get the information from her anyways, she would not betray her parents now. Though she did not understand the reasoning, she had to trust them.

"Julia," Damon said, his voice threatening. "Make the right choice." She looked over at Simon again. He sat as straight as he could, his young face proud and straight. He shifted his eyes from side to side once. No.

She assumed the subtle message had not gone unnoticed, but still she refused to write.

"We do not want to resort to certain methods, but you know what happened. I am not quite sure why you will not tell us what happened, but it makes me think you know something. Perhaps you were working with whoever took your parents? Or perhaps they decided to leave the Clave?"

Julia scribbled angrily, _I know nothing. I was unconscious._

"You were found unconscious, yes, but I doubt you know nothing," Harvey said.

_So you will torture a girl who cannot scream and starve a vampire of blood for information?_

"Let's hope it does not resort to that," Damon replied.

* * *

><p>"Jake," someone said approaching his table in the library. Jake's head snapped up so fast he started to rub his neck.<p>

"Hey James," he said. He ran his hand around his neck massaging it.

"You missed last class," James said. He glanced at Jake's paper. "And didn't get any of your paper done. What have you been doing all day?"

"I uh I met with the new girl. I took her for a tour. And then I came back here to work on this paper."

"Which you didn't do?"

"Exactly!" Jake responded.

"How long was this tour?" James asked laughing.

"I got back in time," Jake said. "I just lost track of time."

"Ha, well let's go to archaic symbols before you get in trouble," James responded.

Jake packed up the books and headed out with James. But his mind was still on Julia. He could not imagine anyone would affect him in this way. He had barely known her for a few hours and she already consumed his every thought.

He was able to keep his mind focused on the next lesson. And the one after that. But as the day wore on, he found himself focusing less and less. James noticed and tried to keep him focused, but he still could not. He wanted to see her again. But he did not see her the rest of the day. He managed to get some of his paper done later that night with the help of his friend Annie. Soon after he went to bed forcing himself to sleep praying that he would see her again in the morning.

* * *

><p>Julia was returned to the school late at night with a promise that they would return for her in a few days. Despite the fact that they had not been able to get any information out of her, they had questioned her ruthlessly for hours. Yet they made no move to hurt her, and did not make any indication that they were going to call the Silent Brothers. She was confused by the whole situation. All she could hope for right now was that they did not hurt her, and that they did not take her from too many of her classes. She was already taken out of her first day, although from the sound of things she was far ahead of where she should be. But still, she was also hoping to spend more time with Jake…<p>

As she drifted off to sleep, her mind traveled to the night her parents disappeared. They had been having a dinner party with all of their friends. She was sitting next to her dad laughing at a werewolf joke that Magnus was acting out with smoke images. Isabelle was sitting across from him showing her new boots to Aline Penhallow. Everyone else sat amused, watching Magnus, knowing that he was merely kidding and none of them really thought anything bad of werewolves. Her mom had just turned and whispered something to her dad when the doorbell had gone off. The doorman went to get the door. They all heard the doorman scream. It was a sound Julia did not think she would ever forget. Magnus's smoke vanished instantly. Everyone was immediately on their feet, weapons out. Despite the fact that they were at a dinner party, Shadowhunters never went without weapons. Julia stood strong next to her dad, a knife in her right hand, her left drawing runes on her arm. The two Shadowhunters nearest the door rushed out. Not to be left behind, her dad with his angelically swift abilities leapt onto the table and was quickly out the door. The next hour was a blur. There were demons in the house. Julia fought without thinking, but they did not seem to end. Simon was throwing himself in front of whoever he could and watching demons burst in front of him. Julia found herself in one of the extra rooms with her dad. They quickly dispatched a Behemoth demon and stood to face each other.

"Is it him dad?" Julia asked.

"I think so sweetie," he replied. She nodded.

"Don't worry. I've defeated Sebastian more than once. I can do it again." She nodded but fear gripped her stomach. "Run Ju. Get out. And when you get out of here go to the school. They can educate you."

"What about you guys?"

"We'll figure something out," he said. "Just get yourself safe. This is not your battle."

"You were my age when you were fighting battles that weren't yours," she responded.

"Jace!" a voice shouted from nearby. It was her mom's voice. Julia started to go toward it but Jace put his arm out. She was fast, but he was just as fast.

"Run Julia. Don't tell anyone. You're on your own, but I have faith in you. We love you Ju." With that he ran out of the room pulling out a seraph blade as he went. She was about to follow anyways when she heard a creak behind her. As fast as she was by the time she had turned around someone had wacked her over the head and she fell to the ground unconscious.

With her last thought being fear for her parents, Julia fell into a fitful sleep.


	3. Return

Jake woke the next day to James whacking him with a pillow. "Do you ever sleep?" he mumbled.

"No," James responded. "Now get up or you're going to be late."

Jake mumbled and rolled over, but then he suddenly remembered: Julia.

He quickly rolled out of bed and ran to take a shower.

"Why are you suddenly in such a hurry?" James asked bewildered as Jake ran past him.

"See you later," Jake said as he ran out. Their first two classes were the only two they did not have together. The two were nearly inseparable. Generally students at the school were given their own room, but as parabati they shared a room. Although parabati were encouraged to spend most of their time together, they had to learn how to be somewhat apart. So they had their morning classes separate. Other than that they spent all of their time together.

His hair was still dripping with water as he ran to the weapons training room. He was wearing sweats and a wife-beater as they had been instructed to. They were practicing throwing weapons while in movement. He skidded into the room, almost falling, but did not thanks to his Balance rune. She was there, right in front of him, but across the room. She was twirling a long bladed knife standing between two other students who were greeting her. She turned as he came in the room. She smiled at him as he approached the group.

"Hey Ju," he said. She frowned slightly for a moment, but her face resumed its smile so quickly he thought he may have imagined it. She gave a little wave as a hi. "Hey guys," he said to the other two.

"Hey Jake," they responded.

"Ok, everyone here?" Mr. Halloway's booming voice interrupted any further conversation. He looked around the room. "Where's Macy?" he asked.

"She's sick," Trudy, the girl next to Julia, responded.

"Ok, let's get started then." He first had them stand in a line. He put a target off to the left of the room. They had to run straight parallel to the target and once they were at a certain point past it they had to throw the knife at the target. Jake stood in front of Julia. They were at the end of the line. A few people hit the edge of the target, but most missed, although they were not that far off. Mr. Halloway gave each of them instructions on how they could improve and sent them to the back of the line. Jake took off at a sprint, and upon reaching the mark twisted and released the knife. He was halfway between the edge and the center. He raised his arm triumphantly and let out a whoop. Mr. Halloway congratulated him, but then instructed him on how to flex his arm before snapping his wrist to concentrate the throw even more. Jake stood with him to watch Julia throw. Her sprint was fluid and her throw was perfect. It hit the center of the target perfectly.

"Excellent throw Julia," Mr. Halloway said.

"I actually thought you wouldn't do good on that one," Jake said to her. Her eyebrows drew in as her face filled with confusion. "Cuz you're left handed," he clarified. Her Sight ruin was on her left hand. She smiled and air-scribbled with both hands.

"Ambidextrous?" Mr. Halloway asked. She nodded. "Why am I not surprised?" he muttered. Julia smiled again and her and Jake took their place at the end of the line. More people were on the target and one boy's knife hit the edge of the target, although he claimed it was a fluke and that he would not be able to repeat it. Jake's was a little closer this time but still not at the center.

"Switch it up Julia," Mr. Halloway said before she went. She nodded and took off at a run. As she neared the mark she flipped her body over in a front dive and threw the knife while halfway through. It was dead center again.

"Now you're just showing off," someone shouted. She silently laughed and shrugged an apology. Then she frowned. This frown took her a moment longer to recover so he was sure he did not imagine it. He wanted to question her on it but figured he would wait until later. They continued the rest of the class like this, everyone improving considerably until most were hitting the center of the target. Julia was rolling and twisting in different positions, using both her left and right arms. Although she was not always perfectly centered, she was always in the center color of the target. Several times Mr. Halloway had her demonstrate a proper throw to the class. Afterwards she left rapidly, not even waiting for Jake. He put his knife away and ran out to the hallway but didn't see her anywhere.

* * *

><p>"Looking for your girl?" James asked walking up beside him.<p>

"She's not my girl. I just met her yesterday," he responded.

"Could barely tell the way you act," James responded laughing.

Jake paused in his search. "Maybe I am acting a little obsessed," he said laughing as well.

"A little?" James asked. "You're already dreaming about her."

"What?" Jake asked spinning on him. "What did I say?"

"I'm kidding Jake, chill."

"Oh. Funny," Jake responded.

They both laughed again. "Come on, we should go to class. You especially since you skipped two of them yesterday."

They chatted until the end of the hallway and then split; James off to weapons training and Jake off to Origins of Runes.

He almost sighed with relief when he got there. Julia was sitting at one of the double desks right next to where he sat. He sat down next to her. She was smiling again. Whatever had disturbed her earlier wasn't now.

He really was gorgeous. His eyes were almost brown today with little specs of yellow. He was still in his sweats and his shirt was clinging tightly to his body. She could not help but notice his finely toned body. She had a strong urge to run her hands over it. She shook her mind clear. She could not be thinking about this right now. Yet she was drawn to him like she did not think she could be drawn to a person. He seemed to be all she thought about yesterday, despite having to focus on the questions being fired at her, and focusing on the new environment she was in.

"Why were you so upset in class?" he asked her.

_It's only been a week without a voice I get frustrated sometimes._

"Understandable," he responded.

_It's nice to have people who will talk to me even though I can't respond _

"Anytime," he said. Then he turned his attention to the front before he got yelled at.

The class dragged for her. Her mother was an expert at runes and her father was an expert at Shadowhunting. She had already learned all this. She figured it would be that way in all of her classes. She knew she was advanced beyond her years. Her dad had told her just recently that she was already better than most of the adult Shadowhunters he knew. She had thought he was just praising her as a parent, but did not really think it was true. She had never really known what level others her age were at. She had hung out with others of course, but had never fought with anyone other than her parents and occasionally Isabelle or Alec.

"Julia," the teacher said. She had not realized she was gazing out the window. She looked up at him. "How can you diminish the effects of a rune without destroying it?"

She picked up her pen and scrawled on a piece of paper. _You can slice the skin it's on. It will prevent the rune from working until the skin knits back together. Or you can change the rune._

He walked over and read her paper. "What do you mean by change?"

_Sorry, I forgot normal Shadowhunters cannot do that…_

"I assume you are referring to that talent of your mothers?" She nodded. "Yes, as Julia has written, you may slice the skin," he said addressing the rest of the class. "It will stop most runes from taking effect until the skin is healed. Other than that you would have to destroy the rune in some way."

"What were you referring to when you said change?" one student asked.

"Julia's mother has a certain talent with runes as I'm sure most of you have heard. She has a power with them no other Shadowhunter has. As part of that she can add to runes or change them and change their purpose."

"Why does that not work for us?" someone else asked.

"Once a rune is drawn it is set into you. It is not something you notice, but your body, or the rune, depending on how you look at it, knows that it is complete. When you begin to draw again it knows it is a new rune." He turned away from Julia and began to lecture about the different ways to destroy runes.

Now that the attention was off her, Julia's thoughts started to drift again. She was not certain what to expect from Jake. He was commonly greeting others, and seemed to be friends with everyone. But as she stood to leave class someone tried to talk to him but he shook them off and followed after her.

"I wasn't sure if I would see you today," he said to her. She nodded at him.

"So you're ok?" She shrugged trying to indicate that she was not quite ok but she would be fine.

"I know we just met but you can talk to me if you want." She nodded again trying to indicate her thanks. She hoped he was understanding what she meant. It was the most frustrating problem she had ever had not being able to talk. She put her hand up and itched the top area of her chest where the rune lay.

"I've gotta go to the library," he added. "If you want to join me." She hesitated. "I did interrupt your reading yesterday. And I promise not to interrupt you unless two scary looking men come looking for you." She silently laughed wishing she could really laugh. She wasn't sure where her relationship was going with Jake. It had barely been one day. But he was easy to be around, and she did long to continue the book she had started. She hooked her arm in his and they trailed off to the library together.

She was right in the middle of an intense paragraph when Jake interrupted her. "I know, I know," he said as she shot him an angered look. "I promised I wouldn't interrupt you, but I wanted to introduce you to James. He's my parabati." She instantly thought of her dad and Alec but pushed the thought away afraid she would start crying if she thought about it too much. She stood up and reached her hand out to him.

"I'm sorry about your misfortunes," he said. She nodded her appreciation. That was all the condolence she received. For Shadowhunters losing your loved ones was just a part of life. Although they were probably missing, she was still supposed to act almost as if they were gone and move on. But she constantly racked her brain anyways, hoping she would remember something that would help her find her parents.

"I see you've managed to get Jake to do his paper. He could not seem to do it yesterday. Something had him distracted."

Jake gave him a stricken look for a moment and James had a laughing smile on his face. She reached around for the paper behind her. _I did nothing. I've been reading._

"Mhmmm," James responded. "Must just be your presence then." She did not know what to make of that. There was no way she could have any kind of an effect on Jake. They had just met! She wondered if he felt as drawn to her as she did to him.

* * *

><p>The rest of the week flew by fast for Jake. He stopped talking to virtually everyone but Julia and James. Instead of spending hours talking to his friends he spent most of his time interpreting her gestures and mannerisms so she would not have to write so much.<p>

"I don't know what it is!" he told James one night. "I feel drawn to her like a moth drawn to a flame."

"Are you sure it's not just her helplessness?" James asked.

Jake was about to respond angrily but then rethought the statement. "Do you really think she's all that helpless?" he asked.

"She can't speak Jake."

"Yeah, but she's still ten times the Shadowhunter any of us will ever be. You should see her in weapons training. She's faster, stronger and better. She can jump almost to that bannister up top. And did I tell you she knows twelve languages?"

"You've mentioned it."

"You don't seem nearly as impressed as I am."

"I've grown up hearing stories of her parents just as you have Jake. Is it really all that surprising?"

"I guess not," Jake responded.

* * *

><p>He went to find her hoping she would be in her room. Once again he felt the strange pull just to be near her. She had been taken by the men again last night and he wanted to make sure she was ok. She was not in her room, but he ran into Macy in the hallway and she told him she had just seen Julia walking across the far field. He knew where she'd be. He thanked Macy and ran off.<p>

Julia was standing next to his tree staring across the field. Her gaze was far away and she looked lost in a memory. She turned to him as he approached and her smile grew big. "Hey," he said. If it was possible her smile grew even bigger. Her hand gave a little wave. She took a step toward him and stumbled. He caught her but stared at her in shock. She was always so graceful. She never fell. She looked at him also stunned but didn't look away. He was suddenly conscious of how close they were. He could feel her breathing on him. He looked into her eyes. She was probably wondering why he was holding onto her arms, but then again she did not step away. She stared back at him her eyes clear and shining. Without a second thought he leaned forward and kissed her. It was everything he thought it would be. Her lips were soft and fit perfectly with his. He allowed himself to enjoy it for a moment but then pulled away.

"I'm so sorry," he stammered. "I didn't think. You have no way to tell me to stop. I'm sorry," he repeated. "I completely apologize for my acti…" he was cut off by her pulling on his gear and pulling him back to her. She smiled at him and then kissed him. He was still for a moment, completely shocked. And then happiness seeped into him and he wrapped his arms around her and ran his fingers through her hair. He pushed her back until they were up against the tree. He felt her running her hand along his back, and then running her fingers through his hair. It sent a shiver through him. He wanted to be closer to her. He wrapped his hands around her thighs and lifted her up a little. She gave him a warning look but did not stop him.

"Sorry to interrupt," a voice cut in, "but I believe you wanted to speak with me Julia?"

Julia and Jake jumped apart, both standing in shock. Jake looked at the man in shock. He looked to be about 40. He had silver glitter coating his graying hair. When Jake looked at his eyes he took a step back. They eyes were a goldish green and shaped like a cats. His outfit was more eccentric than his hair, with a glittery striped black and silver shirt, a shining belt, and white pants. Somehow this stranger was able to pull off the outfit, but Jake was not quite sure how. Julia reacted with a completely different reaction than him. She broke into a giant smile and leaped at the man.

"Good to see you too," he said in response to her hug. He was smiling but it was grim. Jake took a gentle step forward as Julia detached herself from the stranger.

"And who is this you've been kissing?" he asked. Julia flushed slightly but remained smiling. She gestured Jake forward.

"Jake Fireblade," he said sticking his hand out, not knowing what else to do.

"Fireblade, eh. Pleasure," he responded taking Jake's hand. "I am Magnus Bane."

"_The _Magnus Bane?" Jake asked.

"Is there another?" Magnus asked looking slightly affronted.

"You're older than I expected. I thought most warlocks were young," Jake said.

"I was young once," he responded, his gaze drifting off slightly as he reminisced momentarily. "But alas, love. It took me as it takes us all. I gave up my immortality. A small price to pay for the love I have shared. After all, what is the point of living for all eternity if you must live it alone?"

"That is all very poetic and such, but what are you doing here?" Jake asked.

"I had heard Julia wanted to speak with me," he responded his eyes scrutinizing Jake.

"She cannot speak," Jake responded. "She has a silencing rune."

Julia pulled out a piece of paper. _I thought you were taken._

"As if Jonathan Morgenstern could take me," Magnus replied coolly. He did not seem fazed at all by the fact that she could not speak. Julia shot him a warning look and shifted her eyes to Jake. He did not seem to recognize the name.

_But you did not contact me. We could be trying to find them._

"Do you think I have not been?" Magnus replied.

_How did you escape?_

"It is slightly irritating having to wait for you to write. Is there no way to get rid of the rune?" was his response, rather than answering.

_I've tried. Answer the question._

"Very well. I found myself and Alexander in the library. I prepared a spell to take us away from there. He had only to be touching me to be whisked away, but the second before the spell took affect his sister screamed and he ran without a second thought. The wards around the place prevented me from magicking back in, and by the time I returned the place was empty."

_You were just going to leave everyone?_

"I fought for everyone. I killed countless demons. But we all knew it was a hopeless fight. Why do you keep accusing me Julia? I am not your enemy."

_I'm sorry. I've just been stressed and worried and I don't know what to do. They keep questioning me. And…_she paused and looked at Jake before continuing, seeming to debate with herself but then continued writing…_they have Simon. They're starving him. He won't hold out more than a few days more._

Magnus frowned. "Well, let's see if we can't do something about that now, shall we?"


	4. Blood

Julia came to Jake's room at midnight. She knocked on the door three times. No one answered. She sighed to herself. He probably fell asleep. She tried turning the handle. It was unlocked. There were two beds jammed in the room and a four-drawered dresser between them. The room was almost bare. There was a picture of Jake with people she assumed to be his family in the middle. She picked it up. They had spent the whole week together and she hadn't asked him a thing about himself. He was smiling between his parents, his hand resting on a girl she assumed to be his little sister. Next to it was a picture of James with his arm wrapped around Jake. It looked like it had been taken a few years ago. They looked like they fit together. She turned away from the pictures remembering that she was in a hurry.

Both boys had soft brown hair and both were sleeping on their stomachs. She wasn't sure which one was Jake. She leaned over the boy on the left. She assumed it was James. The hair was slightly darker than Jake's and it was a little bit shorter. She went to the bed on the right and started shaking the person. Jake rolled over, rubbing his eyes. She stepped away. He looked at her and then sat up rapidly.

"Oh crap," he said throwing off his covers. She held a finger to her lips indicating for him to be quiet and glanced over at James. James rolled over onto his side. With more care, Jake slowly got out of bed. Julia indicated she would wait in the hallway. She sat across from the door, her heart constricting with fear for Simon. He had not looked good when she saw him last. He might have given in already. She thought back. He had been there her entire life growing up. Never changing, never getting older. Despite her aging, he had remained best friends with her mom and was a stable part of her life. It sickened her that he was starving. Suddenly she heard voices inside the room. She got up to leave but before she went two steps the door opened and James was standing there. She spun around to face him.

"This is why you're sneaking out in the middle of the night?" he asked, his eyes puffy and his mouth stretching out to a yawn. He slid out of the way to let Jake past. "Have fun lovebirds," he said as he closed the door behind him.

Jake smiled at her and shrugged. Just his smile set her heart fluttering. She smiled back. To her surprise he took her hand in his and led her down the hall. She liked the feel of their hands linked together. There were little shots of electricity shooting through her hand making her warm inside.

They had little difficulty getting out of the school. They ran across the fields praying no one was watching them and met Magnus at the edge of the woods nearly two miles away from the school. "Took you long enough," he said. He stood with his back against a tree, leaning casually against it, looking at his nails. His outfit was black with little swirls of dark green. Fortunately, he was devoid of glitter. He caught Julia looking at his outfit and smiled his catlike grin. "I thought I would tone it down a bit. Don't want to get caught by some glitter reflecting off the moonlight."

He spoke casually as though it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be there in late at night gathering to bring a vampire blood. Julia gestured for him to go in front of her into the woods. "Very well. Let's go," he said.

Magnus led them through the woods. How he knew where they were going Julia did not know. But she was glad he did because she was completely lost. She had told him where Simon was being held, and he said he knew where the building was. He also got the blood. Magnus said he would need their help once inside.

They came out of the woods and entered a section far away from the school. Although the school was in Alicante, Magnus had suggested they take the woods rather than a direct path to the place just in case. Upon arriving at the woods, they walked through the streets calmly but alert, fearing they would run into someone. For the first mile the streets remained clear. Just before they rounded one of the buildings, Julia heard footsteps. Magnus was about to step out but she pulled him back. He quickly cast a spell and the person walked by without seeing them. Julia wished she could ask him what he had done, but of course she could not.

They encountered no one else on their way. This was not uncommon in Alicante. The city was very well protected and over years people had grown comfortable and lax in their homes. There were very few stragglers out late at night. "This is it right?" Magnus whispered. She nodded and then she shivered as a gust of wind came along. It was only the beginning of fall but already the weather was starting to turn. Jake mistook it as fear and took her hand in his, giving her a little squeeze. She squeezed his hand back and did not let go. It was nice to have someone to comfort her.

There were no guards outside. Magnus handed Jake the bag of blood who stowed it inside his jacket. Magnus cast another quick spell on the door and then opened it. Whether because of Magnus's spell or because it was designed that way, the door did not make a noise. Once inside Julia took the lead, making sure not to make any noise. She led them down the hallway and off to another. All the hallways were lit with a dim light that she could not tell where it was coming from. Before rounding the corner to the hallway where Simon was being kept she indicated that to Magnus. They peered around the corner to discover two guards standing in front of the door. Magnus sighed quietly. As he did it, Julia noticed the lines on his face were more prominent than she had thought. She wondered if it was just from lack of sleep this night, or if he was exerting that much of his energy trying to find Alec and the others.

He cast another spell and the two fell asleep immediately. It paid to have a warlock on your side. Afterword he slumped against the wall. "That took a lot out of me," he said.

"If you want to wait and rest, we can take it to him and meet you back here," Jake responded quietly.

Magnus shook his head and pushed himself away from the wall. "It only took so much energy because I had to make it so they wouldn't remember when they woke up. I'll be fine. I want to see Simon."

The crept down the hallway listening for even the faintest sound. That they encountered no one else the entire night shocked Julia. Had the Shadowhunters really grown that lax from when her parents were young? It had been proven once that the towers were not impenetrable. Didn't they know how easy demons could get in? How they already had? No, she realized. They didn't know because she wouldn't tell them. But then again, the house was searched. They would have sensed the demonic presence. The more she thought about it, the stranger this entire situation was beginning to seem. Unfortunately, the point still remained that if any demons did get in, there would be no one around to sound an alarm. Everyone would die in their sleep, she though grimly. She felt guilt that it would be her fault if they were caught unawares, but so far there had been no word of demon presence and her father had been sincere when he told her not to say anything.

Jake quietly opened the door. He saw no one inside so he stepped into the room. Julia heard Simon mumble, "who the hell are you?" before Jake stepped aside and her and Magnus stepped in the room. If possible he looked worse than he had the night before. His eyes were a depthless black, the area around them purple and bruised looking. There was blood dripping down his chin, coming from little indents in his lips where his fangs had slid into. The veins on his neck and arms were almost fully exposed. His eyes looked wild and crazed. "Magnus. Julia," he whispered. His voice was raspy and try. Julia could see the muscles on his arms bulging as he pulled against the chains holding him to the chair.

"Get out," he rasped. "Your blood…Not strong enough."

Magnus held his hand out for the blood from Jake.

"Simon, we brought you blood. I'm going to bring it to you but you have to promise you won't hurt me."

"I can't," Simon whispered so low that Julia barely heard him.

"You can Simon. Besides, I can guarantee I don't taste all that good. It wouldn't be worth your time."

"Magnus. I can't. Need Blood."

"It's ok Simon. I'm just going to bring the packet to you." He ripped it open and Simon almost went nuts. He weekly thrashed in the chair. "Here you go Simon." When Magnus was almost to him, Simon pulled against the chains and then let out a whelp of pain. Julia saw smoke rise from the chains. For the first time she noticed an outer ring of metal that were etched with little stars of David. When he pulled against the chains too hard, his arms came in contact with them and he was burned. He hung his head low as if afraid to move again. Magnus held the packet up to his mouth and Simon bit at it so viciously he almost took Magnus's hand off. Jake checked the hallway as they waited for him to drink, afraid that someone had heard Simon scream. He heard no noise at all so he went back inside. He had never seen a vampire drink before and it was repulsive. Simon sucked on the blood like it would never be enough. Even after the bag was empty he continued to suck the bag as if hoping to find something left in there.

"It's empty," Jake said unable to take it anymore.

"Thank you," he whispered looking up at them.

"I only brought you one bag because I thought it would be too obvious if you were suddenly all better. We'll bring you some every few days until we can figure out how to get you out of here," Magnus said. As he said this Julia stepped forward and began to wipe the excess blood off his face with a cloth. She indicated the area of his chin that had blood before and then his fangs.

"Good idea," he said and he slid his fangs out so they once again slid into his bottom lip causing blood to drip back down it.

"I can't thank you enough," he said looking at her and then Magnus in turn. "I don't know if I could have lasted another day. But you," he said turning to Jake. "You look familiar. Have we met?"

"I don't think so," Jake responded looking confused. "I'm Jake. Jake F…" they all heard it at the same time. The men outside the door were stirring. Julia gave Simon a pat on the shoulder and then the three of them hurried out, Magnus shutting the door silently behind them. They just made it around the corner and heard the two men struggling awake. They did not think the guards had noticed anything, but were too afraid to go back and check. They made it back to the school without incident. Jake went to bed that night feeling accomplished. He did not know Simon, but he had felt bad for him. He wanted badly to ask his dad what was going on but knew it would probably be a bad idea to reveal that he knew the Daylighter was locked in the dungeons.

Jake drifted off to sleep smiling at the kiss Julia had given him before they departed for the night, a token of her appreciation. He smiled at the feel of her lips on his and what it was like to hold her. Her body fit perfectly into his and it made him absurdly happy; like they were meant to be together.

* * *

><p>The next two weeks they snuck out three more times. James noticed but said nothing, assuming were sneaking off to be together. He was happy for Jake. Jake was popular. He was friends with everyone and always had a smile on his face. But James had never seen him so happy as he had been the last few weeks with Julia around.<p>

Julia had been taken two more times by the men and the second time she came back with a scratch on her face and an iratze on her arm. Jake pressed her consistently about it but all she would reveal was that she was fine and she thinks they're angry that Simon is holding out. She also expressed confusion about why they would not call the Silent Brothers. She clearly was not going to give them any information yet they continued to take her and question her. The entire thing was beginning to seem curious to her and she had the nagging feeling that something was up with her interrogations.

At the end of the second week they went to give Simon more blood. The second they stepped into the building Julia felt that something wasn't right. She could not place it but something just was not right. She wanted to leave, but the thought of Simon and his face last time she had seen him made her keep moving. Everything was going as it always did. But suddenly, as Simon was halfway through the bag, they heard people shouting from far away. They all looked at each other, fear reflected on all of their faces. They must have been found out. They took the bag of blood from Simon and hastily wiped off the blood. Jake paused to close the door and dropped the blood bag. Magnus stopped to help him indicating she should keep going. She skidded around the corner and stopped. There was a man standing a few feet in front of her. He looked at her in confusion.

"Who are you? What are you doing around here?" he asked. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She recognized him but she could not place him. She stared at him wordlessly. His voice grew angry, "I am Consul Fireblade and you will answer me. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

She stared at him, her mouth open and gaping. At that moment she heard Jake and Magnus come around the corner behind her. They both paused, Magnus looking shocked and Jake staring in horror.

"Jake?" the man asked, stunned.

Jake looked at the man just as surprised. "Dad?"

**A/N: Hey guys hope you're enjoying my story! It's going to be a couple days until the next chapter because I have finals! Thanks for reading :-) And if at any point you have any questions feel free to message me!**

**R&R Pleeeeease!**


	5. Nightmare

She could not believe it. They had just been let go. Jake had explained to his dad what was going on, and he had been shocked. He called for the immediate release of Simon, and had Damon and Harvey locked in a room to await a full investigation. After Jake introduced her, his dad spoke warmly with her and had apologized for shouting at her. "Not often that one just stumbles upon underage Shadowhunters down here," he had said good-naturedly. She had accepted his apology. He had also apologized for her being taken in for questioning, assuring her both he and the Council did not know. He had let them go, assuring them that they were not in trouble. He merely gave them a stern lecture about how they should have reported this and how they should leave stuff like this to higher Clave members. Then, they had then been rushed outside and sent on their way.

They parted with Magnus and Simon at the woods. Both had assured Julia they would be looking for her parents and friends. They promised they would contact her if they heard any news, and would try and see her soon either way. Although Simon glumly remarked that he should probably lay low for a while. With that, they departed and Julia and Jake wandered back to school in silence; her in silent anger and him afraid to speak, knowing she was angry.

* * *

><p>They stood in the middle of the library. It was always open for those last minute students who needed to finish their homework. Luckily there was no one else in there now. It was 5 in the morning. Julia was pacing back and forth wishing she could scream and shout. She turned and threw her pen at Jake. He made no move to stop it but it just bounced off his chest anyways. Never in the past month had she wished so badly she had her voice. The questions were screaming in her head, begging to be let out and answered. Your dad is the Consul? Why didn't you tell me? Can I trust you? And hundreds of other questions like those.<p>

"Julia, listen to me," he said putting a hand on her arm. She violently pulled herself away from him, shaking her head no and backing away from him.

"Why are you mad at me?" he asked. "We're not in trouble, Simon's free. Why are you mad?"

_Your dad is the Consul!_

"So what?" he asked. "Your dad is Jace Herondale."

_It's not about how important your dad is! _She paused trying to figure out how to word it. She wasn't quite sure how to say it so she wrote, _why didn't you tell me?_

He shrugged. "I didn't think it was all that important. To be honest my dad and I aren't that close. He's never around. And besides it's not exactly a conversation starter. Hi I'm Jake, and my dad is the Consul. It just doesn't have a nice ring to it."

Julia stared at him. Somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she was being ridiculous, but she couldn't just stop being angry. She also did not want to start a fight with the boy she really liked over something that was not really a big deal. She remembered briefly a memory from several days earlier. Just a whisper in her ear it had been, like a leaf on the wind. Damon breathing behind her before the first time he had struck her. "The Consul wants information, Julia my sweet dear. And information you will give." And yet she couldn't get herself to reveal that to Jake. She did not know why, but she could not do it. She shoved the memory into the back of her mind. Jake was not the reason for her torture his father was. And Jake did not know that. _I don't know why I'm so angry about it, _she wrote, relenting.

"Well it's nothing to break up over, anyways," he said.

_Break up? She_ wrote, her heart-rate speeding up. _Were we dating?_

"I…" he hesitated and then smiled. "I kept telling myself we were, but I guess I never really asked you out did I?" She shook her head.

"Well then, Julia Herondale, can you overlook the fact that I did not tell you who my father was, and be my girlfriend?"

_This sounds a lot like a proposal._

"It is a proposition of dating, so technically, it is."

_Being proposed to? At this age. What would my parents think?_

He read it and laughed. "I think, given how awesome I am, they would have no objections."

Julia's body shook with silent laughter.

"What?" he asked, the corners of his mouth quirking up in a smile.

_That sounded an awful lot like something my dad would have said._

"Well, awesome people like us tend to think the same way." Julia smiled at him. "Anyways, what do you say? Will you be my girlfriend?"

_Hear my soul speak the very instant that I saw you, did my heart fly to your service._

"Shakespeare? What do you mean by it?"

_It means that I have to agree to be your girlfriend because my heart would accept nothing else. I have been drawn to you since the second I met you._

He took a step closer to her and pulled her up out of the chair. "I really like you," he said pushing a piece of hair out of her eyes. He let his fingers remain knotted in her golden hair. She looked up at him staring into his golden eyes that reflected back at hers. This close up he noticed that her eyes were actually golden whereas his eyes were more of a brown that reflected gold in certain lighting. She smiled at him, and her whole face lit up. He could not resist. He pulled her head closer to him and kissed her. Softly at first, and then building in intensity as she pulled him closer to her so their bodies were almost touching. He almost couldn't take it. He ran his other hand down her back pushing her slightly so they were touching; their bodies melding together like pieces of a puzzle. He held her for a minute longer but she pushed away lightly. They broke apart, and he looked at her in confusion. She put her hands together as if in prayer, but then put them on the side of her head and cocked her head to the side. Sleep. They should probably both get some sleep. But he didn't want to sleep. He wanted to be with her. She smiled as if she understood exactly what he was feeling.

She grabbed the paper behind her and wrote, _plenty of time for that later. We should sleep._

He reluctantly nodded. He went to grab her hand but noticed she was writing something else. _Thanks for everything Jake._ She held it up for him to read. "You're welcome," he responded pulling her into a hug. He kissed her lightly on the top of her head. He wanted more. Wanted to be closer, but she was right. They had time for that. He smiled. She was his girlfriend now. He could kiss her any time he wanted. He drew away and grabbed her hand. They walked slowly back to her room, both reveling in the tiny sparks that were coming from wherever their hands touched. They arrived at Julia's door far quicker than Jake hoped. Even without a word between them, he felt as if he knew her better than he had ever known anyone, other than James. He gave her one more kiss before heading off, smiling. He knew tomorrow would be rough. He would be tired, but she would be there. And she was his girlfriend.

* * *

><p>Julia could not believe it. Amidst the swirl of darkness that surrounded her, there was now a light. Her entire world had been plunged into darkness in one night. She had lost everyone she knew closely with no idea on how to find them. Simon had been imprisoned, and Magnus could only be around so much. She had no voice, and she was bearing a great secret. But now she had a shining light, like a shooting star cutting through the darkness. Jake. Just thinking his name sent shivers of excitement through her. She never thought she would feel about anyone the way she feels about Jake. She drifted off, joyed at how lucky they were. Simon was free, Magnus promised to see her soon, an official investigation was being conducted as to why Simon was there and what Damon and Harvey had been doing, and she had Jake. She would have squealed with delight if anything would come out. She frowned momentarily, wondering if the rune on her chest was going to be permanent, but shook the thought away. She was happy and she would not let dark thoughts cloud her mind right now. She drifted off to sleep, her happy mood being pushed away by a nightmare.<p>

_The room was dark. She pulled out a witchlight, letting its dim light shine out between her fingers. Someone was in the chair. "Simon?" she asked. She paused in shock. She could speak. The head shook. "Simon, I thought they freed you?" The head looked up. She stepped back, wondering why she had thought it was Simon in the first place. It was Consul Fireblade. _

"_I warned you," he said, his face breaking into a malicious grin. "I warned you to stay out of this." Those were the last words he had said to her before her and Jake had left the Council building._

"_I don't know how I got here," she responded. "I didn't mean to get involved this time."_

"_I warned you," he repeated. "I warned you and now you are mine." As he said the last part his appearance changed. He became a tall man with whitish silver hair. She looked into his eyes. They were a depthless black, deep and horrible. She knew who he was instantly and she began to back away._

"_Sebastian," she whispered. _

"_That is not my name," he responded. He smiled to reveal pearly white teeth, gleaming with malice. "Speak my true name. A name your father inherited from me. A name that does not belong to him. Say it."_

_She shook her head. She tried to look away but could not. It was as if she was caught in the swirling depths of his eyes. She suddenly found that she was on her knees. He was standing over her, a knife in his grasp. "Say it, or I will plunge this knife through you."_

"_Jonathan," she whispered. "Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern."_

"_You will be mine soon, Julia. You will be mine." With that her dream swirled around her, and Julia woke with a silent scream._

* * *

><p>Julia got out of her bed. She would have to get up in a half hour anyways. She looked in the mirror. She was a mess. Julia ran a brush through her hair. She had inherited a mixture of hair quality from her parents. Although her hair was the same color as her dad's, her hair was a more on the wavy side. She like the way it fell this morning. Afterwards, she pulled off her pajama shirt and paused. Something was different. She stared and stared until she realized it was the mark. It was no longer a deep black. It had faded. It was so slight a fade she doubted anyone would notice, but she stared at it every day. She could see it. Julia rushed about throwing on her training clothes. She threw her hair into a ponytail, rushed to the bathroom to brush her teeth and then sprinted down the hallway to Jake's room, frightening several people on the way.<p>

"Who the hell is banging on our door?" James asked, rolling over. I could have gotten another five minutes of sleep.

"I know," Jake mumbled, his face shoved into the pillow. "Answer it."

"You answer it," James responded throwing his pillow at Jake.

"I need my beauty sleep," Jake responded throwing it back.

"And whose fault is it that you got no sleep?" James countered. The person knocked again. James looked over at Jake who had rolled back on his stomach and got up. He had scarcely opened the door when Julia barged in the room. "It's for you," James said to Jake.

Julia gave James a wave and then immediately started to pull off her shirt. "Whoa," James said, "maybe I should leave the room first." Julia shot him a look but proceeded to take her shirt off. He needn't have worried. She had a tank top on underneath. Jake rolled over and was staring at her with amusement.

"What's going on?" he asked. She pointed to her chest and clapped her hands together. She was clearly excited about something.

"Maybe I really should leave," James said heading for the door. Julia rolled her eyes at him. She traced the outline of the rune on her chest and gave the thumbs up. The two boys shared a glance and then stared at her quizzically.

"Ju," Jake said, sitting up in bed, "What's going on?" She smiled, mostly with excitement about the rune fading, but she also liked the way he said Ju. But she had to figure out now how to tell them what was going on. In her hurry she had forgotten to bring a pen and paper. She frowned for a minute.

James immediately felt bad for her when she started to frown. He could see how clearly she was excited. And he could see how upset she was that she could not seem to get her message across. He felt pity for her. He could not even imagine what it would be like to not have a voice. "There's a pen and paper in the top drawer," he said. She immediately turned to grab it. She held the paper up to the dresser and scrawled rapidly before handing the paper to Jake. James went over to the bed and glanced at the paper with him.

Two words were written on it: _It's fading._ They both looked confused for a moment and then it clicked. Both boys looked up at her at the same time. And then they both stared at her chest. "It's really fading?" Jake asked.

"It looks the same," James remarked. Julia shook her head up and down when Jake spoke and then shook it back and forth the second James finished speaking. She took the paper from them and wrote something else before handing it back.

_I know it looks the same, but I swear its fading. I look at it every day. It went from black to a dull black._

"And what is the difference between black and dull black?" James asked. Julia shot him another look. Jake on the other hand got up and stood in front of her. He traced a finger around the rune.

"It's really fading?" he asked. She nodded. "It's so odd that it lasted this long in the first place," he said. "I wonder who put it there." Julia hesitated a moment and then took the paper back from James.

_My mom, _she wrote.

"Your mom?" Jake asked, his voice incredulous.

"That's ridiculous," James said.

_I know. But I've thought about it a lot. Who else can draw runes with that much power? Silencing runes are not meant to last more than two days and yet mine has barely faded over a month. It has to have been her. But why…I dunno._

"You really think it was her?" James asked after they both read the note.

Julia shrugged and nodded. "That…that sucks," Jake said after a moment. "Why would she do that?" Julia shrugged again.

"We won't tell anyone," James responded after a moment of silence. "We should probably get to our classes," he added as an afterthought. Julia nodded and went to leave them.

"We'll be out in a minute if you want to wait in the hall," Jake said giving her a kiss on the cheek. She nodded and went out into the hall. She wasn't sure if she should have told them or not. It was something that had been nagging at her, but she was positive it had been her mother. But it raised so many questions. Why did she do it? Was she forced to do it? Julia's thought process was interrupted by Jake and James stepping out into the hallway. They literally had taken a minute. She smiled at them, pushing all the sad thoughts out of her mind. Jake took her hand in his and the three of them headed off toward the classrooms.


	6. Dance

_I knew something was up._ Julia wrote. They were sitting in Origins of Runes, both bored out of their minds.

"What do you mean?" he whispered.

_The second we stepped into the building I knew something was wrong but I couldn't place it. But now I know what it was. The lighting. It was brighter in there._

"Don't worry about it," he said, "we got out fine."

_I know but still… I knew! _He looked her. She was chewing her bottom lip; a habit inherited for her mother. She looked like something was bothering her. He was about to ask her what it was when he was interrupted by the teacher telling him to pay attention up front. He shot another look at Julia and then sighed and turned his face forward.

"Are you okay?" he was finally able to ask as they left the classroom. She nodded. "Don't lie to me," he said. She spun to look at him. He felt bad. She really looked like she wanted to say something. She threw her hands up in frustration and kept walking down the hallway. He trailed along silently behind her. They ended up at the library. She paused to write on a piece of paper, handed it to him, and then wandered off to find a book. _Just a nightmare, don't worry about it._ He crumpled up the paper and threw it in the trash bin. He sat down on the loveseat and sprawled out putting his legs up on the coffee table in front.

Annie came over and talked to him for a minute but scurried away as soon as Julia approached. Julia gave her a quizzical look as if wondering why she left, but then shrugged and sat down snuggling up in Jake's outstretched arm. He looked at the book. It was not in English.

"And what language is that?" he asked.

_Russian, _she wrote. He shook his head. "Ridiculous," he muttered. She just snuggled in more comfortably and began to read.

* * *

><p>The next several months were the happiest Julia thought she could possibly be given the circumstances. There had been no word about her parents or anyone else. Yet, she was happy. She felt guilty about it sometimes, but she knew her parents would want her to try and be happy. Sometimes she thought about running away and looking for them, but she would not know where to begin.<p>

Jake was amazing. He could practically sense her thoughts now. She only had to make a slight gesture and he knew what she meant. Her and James quickly became friends. He was easy going and fun to talk to, and was always patient when she was writing a response. She had several other friends as well. Annie seemed to get over whatever had been bothering her, and they were now friends. Her teachers loved her, and a couple were working personally with her to help her improve her skills since she was years beyond the others. The time was flying by for her. And that Friday, there was a dance at the main ballroom in Alicante.

She dug into the bottom of her dresser. There was only one dress in there. It was gold. Swirls of shimmery black spread across the entire dress. It accented both her eyes and hair. The swirls matched the runes on her body, making her feel complete. She laid the dress out on her bed.

She remembered her first mark. She had been ten. Her mother had pleaded with her father not to do it yet, saying she was too young. He had spoken calmly, soothing her while Julia pleaded with her. "I w_ant _my runes," she had said. Her mother had been adamant about it, resulting in one of the few fights she could ever recall her parents having. Jace had shouted about him not being Valentine and Clary shouted back that she was too young, the runes would burn. Jace had argued that she was strong enough. He wouldn't do any runes that were too strong. Clary argued that it did not matter. What did it matter waiting a few years? Eventually Julia and Jace won her over. She was not happy about it and refused to be there when it happened.

Julia kept silent as the rune stung across her arm. It stung, painfully. But she remained stoic. She would not complain. Despite the pain, excitement had coursed through her. Her father's touch was gentle, and soon she felt the effects of her first rune. It was a rune for being soundless. She tested it out. Nothing she did made a noise. She laughed with happiness. He drew several other runes and then told her it was enough for the day. She never told her parents about the stinging pain in her arm, and she never told them about the nightmares that kept her up at night.

Someone knocked on her door. She opened it to find Annie standing there. "Hey Julia!" she said. Julia gave a wave. "Oh my god is this your dress?" Annie asked running over to the bed. "It's gorgeous!" Julia nodded behind her and then realized she could not see her. "Please tell me this is what you're wearing!" Julia nodded again. "Do you want to get ready together?" Annie asked tentatively. Julia thought about it a moment. Her and Annie were kind of friends, but she still acted funny around Julia sometimes. She wasn't really sure how to have friends. Ah well, it would be nice to have a girl around. She nodded. "Great!" Annie said. "I'll come by after class!" Julia nodded again. "Kay, see ya," Annie said.

Julia could not wait until Friday. But, as always, time tends to slow down when you're looking forward to something. After a dragging week, Friday finally arrived. Julia had a strong desire to skip her classes, but she wanted to be with Jake. To her surprise, James had asked Annie to accompany him to the dance, and the four of them were going together. She sat on her bed wondering what to do with her hair. She was playing around with it putting it up and putting it back down. There was a knock on her door. She opened it and let Annie in.

She was carrying a deep blue dress that would set off her dark hair and blue eyes. Julia admired it. Following her gaze, Annie looked at her dress to. "I know," she said, "I love this dress. What are you doing with your hair?" Julia held her hands up. "I don't know what to do either."

After almost an hour of decisions, Julia's hair was brushed to waviness, pins holding it back. Two shorter waves were left in front, framing her face. Annie had put her hair up in an elegant bun. They put on their makeup and then their dresses, both looking at each other admiringly. Julia began to strap on bracelets with electrum built in, and then slid a sheath onto her leg and jammed a knife in. If Isabelle had taught her anything it was that fashion and Shadowhunting could coincide. They finished getting ready just in time. Jake and James had just arrived. Both girls grabbed their light jackets and went out the door.

Jake and James were the ideal images of fine gentlemen. James was dressed all in black, accenting his dark eyes. Up close, Julia could see swirls of runes for protection and energy woven into his jacket. James wore dark blue; so dark it was almost black. Julia would have called it midnight blue, although she was sure her mother would have been able to give it an exact name. They were both grinning as they saw the girls. James's mouth dropped a little when he saw Annie.

"You look incredible," he said. She blushed.

"Thank you," she responded. "You're looking pretty good yourself."

He put out his arm and said, "shall we?" She stepped out of the room and hooked her arm in his, still blushing.

Jake took a step toward Julia. "You look beautiful," he said putting out his hand. His eyes were gleaming as he looked at her. She smiled and took his hand, closing her door behind her. "What? No 'hey Jake you look good too?' Even Annie complimented James," he said playfully as they began to walk down the hallway. Julia whacked him with her free hand. "Augh," he said, "I get abused and the silent treatment. What kind of a relationship is this?"

"Feel free to smack him harder," James said turning to look back at them.

"As if she could hurt me," Jake responded. A moment later James heard a thud. He looked back again to see Jake on the floor, Julia holding a knife to his throat. He started laughing.

"Ok, ok," Jake said putting his hands up. His voice came out a little out of breath as though the wind had been knocked out of him. "I was kidding. You're the best Shadowhunter I've ever met."

Julia seemed satisfied with this response and quickly slid the knife back into her sheath before sticking out a hand to help Jake up. He accepted it, not the least bit phased that he had been dumped on his ass by a girl. He shook his arm out a little and then took her hand again and the four of them proceeded to leave the school.

* * *

><p>Julia had seen the building before. She had even been inside. But it looked…different. The inside was so brightly lit; there wasn't a shadow in the place. It was dazzling. The famous ballroom of Alicante, with its clear ceiling that shimmered like diamonds, and the white and gold walls. It was stunning. Jake did not waste any more time allowing her to stand there and absorb the splendor. He grabbed her hand and swept her out onto the dance floor. Had she been able to say anything, she probably would have yelled at him. How did he know she wanted to dance? What if she didn't know how? Fortunately, her parents had taught her. Mostly it was her father, although Alec was inclined to step in every once in a while. They had a different sort of dancing where her mother had grown up and she was not as good at traditional dances. They called it club dancing. Julia even remembered one night when Simon had been over and they had given a demonstration of what club dancing was. Simon had just swayed back and forth, while everyone else danced very close together. She could not stop laughing. Isabelle was twirling in circles around Simon before he finally threw his hands up and said "I couldn't dance then and I definitely can't dance now."<p>

"What's so funny?" Jake asked. Julia hadn't even realized she was laughing, silently of course. The song had turned into a slow one and he drew her close. "Lost in a memory, I'm sure," Jake said. She nodded. His face was barely an inch from hers. "Sometimes I wish I could see what's going on in that head of yours." She smiled. He drew her closer and their bodies touched. She loved being this close to him. His hands were steady on her waist, his arms there for support. She had her hands wrapped around his neck.

"You're so beautiful," he said. She looked into his eyes. They looked more golden today. That probably had something to do with the walls of the ballroom. She wished she could say something. Anything. She wanted to tell him how good looking he was or how amazing he was for once. They swayed back and forth, neither one looking away. Finally he broke eye contact as he leaned over to kiss her forehead. He drew back to look at her again, and a second later their lips met. She thought she could never get enough of kissing him. It was like the first time every time. Little electric jolts sent her body tingling. She felt as if she opened her eyes, there would be fireworks going off around them.

He pushed away very slightly. Their lips were almost touching. She could not understand why he pulled away. His eyes were closed and he leaned his forehead against hers, sighing deeply. "There's no one else like you," he whispered. He opened his eyes to look at her. "I love you, Julia."

She took a sharp inhale of breath. The words were screaming to come out. "I love you too, I love you too!" her head was shouting. But she could not say it. He said those words to her, knowing that no matter how she felt she could not say it back. Instead she did the only thing she could. She pulled his head back to hers and kissed him again.

Eventually they had to get off the dance floor. Both of them were thirsty. They wandered over to the table where James and Annie were sitting talking. Julia plopped into the chair beside Annie and Jake went to get them all drinks.

"I didn't think you guys would ever leave the dance floor," James said to her. Julia smiled and shrugged.

"You two are soooo perfect for each other," Annie said. If possible, Julia's smile got bigger. Jake came back with their drinks after a minute. The four of them sat for a while and talked (with the exception of Julia of course). But she had no problem being involved in the conversation. Jake seemed to know exactly what she was thinking at every moment and would answer with an approval nod from her. They danced again for a while. It was beginning to get late and Julia finally broke away from Jake indicating she had to go to the bathroom.

"Sure," he said, "I'll go wait at the table."

* * *

><p>Julia left the ballroom and went off to the bathroom. It was slightly complicated to find. When she exited she paused, uncertain of which way she had come from. Every direction looked the same. She was pretty sure she had come from the left. After a couple of turns she realized she had gone the wrong way and turned around to go back. She turned the corner, but saw someone at the end of the hallway who looked vaguely familiar. Julia immediately jumped back and peered around the corner.<p>

She hoped she was wrong. It could not be him. He was supposed to be locked up. His investigation had shown that he had been under no orders to lock up Simon or take Julia in for questioning. Last she had heard he was in a cell under the Silent City. Maybe it wasn't him. But as he looked around to see if anyone was following him, he looked back in her direction. There was no mistaking that face. It was Damon.


	7. Taken

She did not know if it was the lighting or what, but Damon did not seem to see her. He immediately rushed around the far corner. Without thinking, she ran after him, drawing her stele as she went. She drew a Soundless rune on her arm, shakily, but it still seemed to have an effect. He was just rounding the next corner as she reached the first. He was walking, so she slowed down a bit. She followed him around two more corners. This place really was a matrix of hallways. As she arrived at the last corner, she heard him speaking.

"Why can't we just take her now?" he asked.

"It's too obvious," someone responded. The voice sounded familiar to her but she couldn't place it. It wasn't Harvey.

"Jonathan wants her. He said to use any means," Damon argued.

"He also said not to raise suspicion," the other man responded.

"It would be so simple!" Damon said.

"As if Julia could not take you on her own! She is here with friends, others that would come to her defense. My son is one of them. There's no way you will be able to take her tonight." Julia gasped, and was very glad at that moment she did not have a voice. No sound came out to give her away. She finally recognized the voice. It was the Consul; Jake's dad. Her mind was reeling. He was in on it too.

"I need to work my way back into his favor," Damon stated. "I need to be the one to get her."

"I am telling you, we need to be patient about this. The time will come to take her. I can feel it."

"Just like you felt that questioning her would be a good idea. And taking Simon. Now we don't even have him. The Clave had decided not to talk to her until her voice was back. I think she knows something was up with her questioning. She asked me several times why I didn't just call the Silent Brothers. If they question her when she gets her voice back, she's going to say something. The sooner we take her, the better," Damon argued.

"I agree we should take her soon, but not yet. I don't think tonight is the best time. Jonathan said he was still trying experiments with her parents. It's amazing what they will do to keep their friends alive. But he thinks that he definitely needs Julia to create offspring. Ones like him. And losing Simon was, regrettable, but we had to let him go. We can still get Julia, without raising suspicion on ourselves. You and I will bring her to him, without raising suspicion."

"I'm trusting you for the last time Fireblade. If this does not work out, I'm going to start working on my own."

"It will work. I promise. I have to get to a meeting. I will meet you tomorrow."

Julia didn't listen to any more. She took off at a sprint down the hallway, hoping they didn't come down that hallway and see her. She rushed back to the ballroom, certain of her way this time. She paused to compose herself before entering again. Jake rushed over to her the second she walked in.

"Where have you been?" he asked, his voice full of worry. She didn't even think about the fact that she had been gone for a while. She shook her head at him and shrugged, waving her hand around trying to indicate that she had gotten lost. He did not look convinced. "What's wrong?" he asked. She tried to smile at him, but could not. She was trying to take in the information she had just heard. Julia's mind was spinning over what she had just heard. Jonathan wanted her, the Clave had not wanted her questioned, her parents were alive, she was pretty sure Damon had said something about offspring, and Jake's dad was in on it all. She looked up at Jake, her eyes almost spilling over with tears. What was she going to tell him?

"Alright kids, one more dance and then we are done for tonight," someone said, their voice enhanced and echoing across the room. Julia grabbed Jake's hand and dragged him to the dance floor. She was afraid that if she stared at him anymore, the tears would spill over. She drew him in tightly, wrapping her arms around his body. She rested her head on his chest. He had no idea what was going on. He gently rested his chin on top of her head and they slowly rocked back and forth. Jake didn't say a word. He just put his arms around her and held on tightly.

* * *

><p>Jake had no idea why Julia wouldn't tell him what happened. She was obviously really upset about something. Her face was an open book sometimes. She didn't seem disheveled as if someone had attacked her. She just looked really upset like someone had said something to her or she had heard something. He assumed that must be it. Maybe she heard other girls talking about her? Making fun of her? But she had never cared about that stuff before, he thought. Maybe she just never showed that she cared, a little voice in the back of his mind said. True, he thought, but that just didn't seem right. She was upset up something much bigger than petty girls making fun of her. He knew that even if she had a voice she would not tell him. So he just wrapped his arms tightly around her, and held her tightly, hoping he was comforting her.<p>

They walked back to the school, hand in hand, neither speaking. James and Annie had left earlier, both claiming exhaustion. Jake had no idea what to say. He wanted to comfort Julia. She seemed to be on the verge of tears one moment, and then her face would harden and she would look resolved the next. He thought about just rambling and chatting about small unimportant things, but something told him this just wasn't the time. So he just walked, enjoying the feel of her hand in his.

Several times he wondered if she was upset because he told her he loved her. Maybe she doubted it, but it was true. It was like the moment she stepped into his world, she became the center of it. But he didn't think that was what was wrong. She had been happy when he said it. Really happy. And it wasn't until hours later after she had gone to the bathroom that she had come back upset. She had been gone for a long time. Something had to have happened. Based on her demeanor, he didn't think her problem had anything to do with him…

They had arrived at her room. He kissed her goodnight. She didn't really seem into it, but once again he got the feeling that it had nothing to do with him. She seemed very distracted. He really wished he knew what was bothering her.

"I love you," he whispered to her again. She gave him the smallest of smiles. It was better than nothing. He was going to leave, but hesitated. He decided he couldn't just leave. She looked broken. "Ju, whatever's wrong, it's going to work out. It'll be okay." And with those words, the tears he knew she had been holding back spilled over, and she all but collapsed into his arms. Julia leaned her head on his chest and sobbed.

* * *

><p>She could not stop crying. They went into her room so no one would stumble upon them. She was sure the people in the rooms by hers had already gone to bed, but just in case, she did not want them to see her cry. They ended up lying on her bed. Him underneath, and her just laying on top of him, crying. She had her arms wrapped around his body, and he had one hand on her back, and the other one playing with her hair. He didn't say a word for which she was grateful. She still hadn't decided what to tell him. It was all just hitting her. From what she could tell, Sebastian was using her parents for experiments. And they were allowing these experiments to happen to them to keep everyone else alive. But they were all still alive. She was glad about that, but she feared for what they were going through. And Jake's dad had said Sebastian probably needed her to create more offspring like him. She could only imagine what that could mean. She had no idea what to do.<p>

Julia had not cried since she was eleven. Not even after her parents had been taken. She used to cry every night after she would awake from the nightmares the marks gave her. She'd spend half the night in fitful sleep and the other half crying. At age eleven she realized how weak it made her. She hardened herself against harsh realities and forced herself to stop crying. The life of a Shadowhunter was tough, and she knew even then that she would have to be strong enough to handle it. She knew her mom cried, but she had never seen her dad cry. She knew her mom thought that you had to bend a little or you would break, but she agreed with her dad that if you were strong enough you wouldn't break.

Yet here she was lying on top of Jake crying. And she could not stop. It was all just getting to her. She knew her life as a Shadowhunter was hard, but she had not imagined anything like this when she was younger. Death was easy; death was something she could deal with, whether that of family, friends, or her own. But that they were alive and she had no idea where they were. And that Sebastian wanted to create more of himself. And he wanted to use her to do it. It was beyond what she could have imagined.

Her parents had told her the stories. They told her everything. How her dad had defeated Sebastian once. How her mom and outwitted Valentine. They told her how her dad had died, and her mom had asked the Angel for him back. And then how Sebastian had been brought back. And how her dad had been linked with him. How they had finally managed to lock him in oblivion, not a part of heaven, hell or earth. He was still alive, but unable to leave the oblivion, allowing Jace to live his life free of Sebastian. But they had always feared he would get out. And then he did. He came and took her parents and their friends. She had awoken and found herself unable to speak. Since then she had not really thought about that night. She had thought about her parents being gone, and how she got the rune, but she had not really thought about all that had been taken from her.

And so she continued to cry. In the back of her mind Julia knew she should get up. She knew that she should change out of her dress, and that she should let Jake go. But with her mind reeling from the events of the present and her memories from the past, Julia fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Where am I? was the first thought in Jake's mind when he woke up. He felt groggy and tired. There was a heavy weight on top of him. His left arm was pinned under something, and as he tried to lift his right he realized it was asleep. He shook it out and something on top of him shifted. He rubbed his eyes with his right hand, and felt some of the blood rushing back through his arm. He opened his eyes to see golden hair sprawled across him. In a rush it came back to him. It was Julia. He was in her room. He remembered holding her as she cried, stroking her hair because he had no idea what else to do. But she had seemed content enough. At some point they both must have drifted off. He knew they would both be in a lot of trouble if he got caught in there, but he didn't have any desire to move.<p>

He laid there for what must have been another hour before she finally began to move. She shifted across him and then seemed to realize she was laying on something. She opened her eyes slowly. She sat up slowly, pushing against his stomach for leverage. She paused, and ran her fingers through her hair. Her makeup was all over her face, and her hair was disheveled. But she still looked beautiful to him. Her eyes locked on his, her expression apologetic. He lifted up his left arm which she had just gotten off of and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear.

"You don't have to be sorry," he said. She nodded. "No, you don't," he repeated. She shifted so she was no longer pushing on his stomach, and instead was sitting on him. Her dress was crumpled, and he was sure his outfit wasn't in the best condition either. She ran her hands up the front of his shirt, and then bent over to kiss him. She began to unbutton his shirt as he wrapped both his hands around her head, pulling her closer and making the kiss deeper. He was wide awake now. She sat up a little bit, pulling his shirt off his arms. He lifted himself to help her, pulling the sleeves off his arms. She hooked her fingers under the edge of his t-shirt and pulled it up too. He pulled it off over his head and then laid his head back on the pillow looking up at her as if to say now what.

* * *

><p>Julia had no idea what she was doing. At some point in the middle of the night she had decided she was not going to tell Jake what had happened. Maybe she would tell him about Damon, and what she had heard, but she would not tell him about his father. She couldn't do that to him. He would probably find out eventually, but she would not be the one to tell him.<p>

She had suddenly had the strong urge to kiss him so she had. But that had not been enough. She needed more. So she drew his shirts off. He clearly was not complaining. But now he was staring at her, his eyes saying now what? Now what was the question indeed. She stared down at his bare upper half, and could not resist. She ran her hands up and down, feeling the lines of his hard six pack. She felt the hard muscles of his upper body, and then ran her hands back down, before leaning forward again to kiss him. He ran his hands up and down her back, sending tingles down her spine. He ran his hands down further after a minute, wrapping his them around her thighs. She wound her fingers through his hair, pulling herself closer to him. His hands started to come higher up her dress, and she tingled with excitement, unsure of how far she was going to let him go. His hands were underneath her dress now, one resting on her hip, the other pulling at her tights. She slid down a bit, kissing his neck and jaw. He groaned quietly, his hand just starting to edge underneath her tights when someone banged on the door.

Julia immediately sat up. She had no idea what time it was, but it was Saturday. Her immediate fear was that it was Damon, but then she told herself she was being ridiculous. She climbed off of Jake and stood facing him on the bed. In a rush he pulled on his button up shirt. She looked down realizing she was still wearing her dress. She bit her bottom lip. This could be very bad if it was a teacher or administrator. Jake sat up in the bed, his shirt buttoned all the way up. Julia wouldn't have time to change out of her dress before answering the door or else it would be suspicious.

Someone knocked again, but this time there was a voice on the other side of the door. "Julia, wake up!" the person almost shouted. It was James. Her and Jake looked at each other and sighed with relief. She went over to the door, opening it and stepping aside to let him in. It might only be James but she did not want someone walking by to see her still in her dress. He stepped into the room.

"Oh thank the Angel," he said when he saw Jake. He paused as he finally seemed to take in the scene around him. Julia was in her crumpled dress, with make-up all over her face. Jake was sitting on the bed, still in his clothes from the night before.

"What's going on?" Jake asked standing up.

"I thought you were…I thought you were gone," James said. His voice was fearful, but he seemed to be relaxing.

"What do you mean gone?" Jake asked.

"I dunno, someone's been taken," James responded.

Julia stepped forward, her eyes questioning. What does he mean taken? She thought.

"What do you mean taken?" Jake asked, echoing her thoughts.

"I don't know, I haven't heard yet. Someone was taken they said. I don't know how they know, or who it was, I just thought since you hadn't come back…" he trailed off, and then looked at Julia. "Or you," he said.

Julia grabbed a pen and paper. _You guys should go back. Get changed Jake, and I will too. And then we'll go see what's up._

Jake read it and nodded. "Good idea," he said. They shared a look. A look of passion and longing passed between them, but there were more important things going on right now. Their desires would have to wait. He gave her a quick kiss, James said goodbye and then they left.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry if you thought this was a little dry! There was the scene with Julia and Jake :-) but while I was reading it I thought that overall it was kinda dry. But it has a lot of information you needed to know! Hope you enjoyed :-) **

**Thanks to all you guys who've read! And who reviewed! And who added the story to your alert list!**


	8. Lake

They found out that the person who had been taken was Braxton Hightower. He was the same age as Jake and James. There had apparently been an argument outside the ballroom with some men in cloaks. Braxton and his friend Darius had been arguing with them but had finally left without too much of a hassle. Darius said he started walking assuming Braxton was with him. He turned to say something and realized Braxton wasn't with him. He ran back, but Braxton was nowhere to be found. Quite a few people had helped search for him but no one could find him.

Julia caught a glimpse of Darius as people clamored to get information. He was surrounded by Clave members. They were asking him question after question, trying to get a description of the men and what exactly had happened. Darius looked haggard, as if he had gotten no sleep. He looked restless and worried, as if he'd rather be out searching for his friend than sitting there. She knew how he felt. But sometimes there just wasn't enough information to do anything.

* * *

><p>Afterwards her and Jake and James went to find Annie. "I think I really like her," James had said. "I definitely want to get to know her better."<p>

So they had gone off to search for her and found her in her room. She seemed pleased to see them, especially James, as far as Julia could tell. And since she couldn't really ask her, she had to go based off her instincts. Julia tried very hard to hide how upset she was. She saw Jake glance at her a few times with worry, but he never said anything. The four of them had one of the best days Julia had had in a while. Even with her dark thoughts, she managed to have fun. She went back to her room, happy, ready to curl up in a ball and read a Spanish novel she had stumbled upon in the library; _Nada_ by Carmen Laforet. She did not want to think about what she learned at the dance. She did not want to be an adult and try to solve the mystery. She just wanted to curl up and be a teenage girl. But just as she was about to settle into bed, she noticed a piece of paper laying there. It was folded several times and was a glittery purple. Magnus, she thought, her stomach clenching in fear. She slowly unfolded it.

**_Braxton's kidnapping was no accident. Jonathan took him. May have new information. Meet by the far lake at midnight_**.

His elegant scrawl filled up the page. She stared at again, before drawing a small rune on the corner and watching it go up in flame. She sat on the edge of her bed, her head resting in her hands. Magnus had left that in her room with the risk of someone else finding it. It must be important information indeed if he was risking it. Maybe it was a trap. Would Magnus really risk the possibility that someone come looking for her in her room and stumble upon this note? Maybe she should go to the lake anyways. If it wasn't Magnus and someone was trying to take her, she could probably fight them off. And if she couldn't, what was she really losing anyways? Jake, the voice in the back of her mind responded. But did she really want to drag him into this?

* * *

><p>Julia set out at eleven. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her. She did not tell Jake where she was going because she had not planned on going. She forced all fearful thoughts from her mind, itching to slide her stele out and draw a fearless rune. She shook the thought away. She could do this. She was strong. As Julia reached the far lake, she saw someone. They were standing straight and tall, facing away from her and staring at the moon. There was no mistaking him even from a distance. Magnus.<p>

Despite trying not to be afraid, she still let out a breath of relief when she realized it was him. She slowly walked down the gentle slope leading to the lake. Magnus did not turn as Julia approached. She stood next to him and looked up at the moon. It was a beautiful, shining silver, so light it was almost white. She then looked at the lake. The moonlight turned it silver, reflecting on its surface. She thought she could stare at it all night, but then Magnus spoke.

"Yes, it is beautiful," he said, glancing at the lake as well. "But not as beautiful as Lake Lyn." He paused in his speech and sighed. "You're life has been tough Julia, and I am about to make it tougher. Another war is coming, and sides must be taken." Julia turned to stare at him, her eyes wide open. "Let me finish telling you of what I have learned before you interrupt me. Not that you could interrupt me," he added as an afterthought. "I told you I may have new information but the truth is I have plenty of information for you. I did not want to say anything until it was confirmed, but I fear it is true. Jonathan was kept away for a long time. But we unknowingly gave him that gift of time. Even without the mortal sword, he has managed to raise an innumerable amount of demons. He has more Shadowhunters than we could imagine on his side. Braxton Hightower was taken because his parents refused to cooperate. He is still alive as far as I gathered, but who knows for how much longer. I don't know how many are in Jonathan's service willingly and how many have been threatened, but I can only imagine how high up in the reaches of our government his hold is." Despite him telling her not to interrupt, Julia pulled out her paper.

_Jake's dad is working with him, _she scrawled. Magnus read it, staring at her with shock. "How do you know this?" he asked. She quickly scribbled out a summary of what had happened the night of the dance.

"I'm sorry Julia," he said. She nodded, showing her appreciation.

"The Consul is working with Jonathan," he said quietly, more to himself than to her. "And I bet Damon was never locked up or investigated." She nodded again. She had been thinking the same thing. "Julia," he said, suddenly spinning toward her and grabbing her. His eyes bore into hers as he said, "you need to tell Jake what his father said. You need to tell Jake everything. Who Jonathan is and everything. You need to know if you can trust him. Julia, you can't trust anyone. We have no idea who could be working with Jonathan. It could be teachers or even classmates. If he can get to the Consul, he can certainly get to those lower down. You need to be careful."

Julia nodded her head slowly, the realization of it starting to hit her. She was not safe and she could trust few people. _I can trust Jake_, she wrote.

"Can you?" Magnus asked, raising an eyebrow at her. _Of course, why not? He is not his father._

"That may be true. And it is very likely that he knows nothing of what his father is doing. And he may even completely agree that what his father is doing is wrong and shout that he hates him. But when the time comes, he may side with him anyway."

_That would never happen._

"Julia, what if someone were to come to you with perfectly viable, irrefutable information that made you realize that you and your parents were wrong. That you were on the wrong side of the battle? That Jonathan was right?"

_But, _she started to write, but he cut her off. "Just say it were to happen. Even though you now knew you were wrong, would you side against your parents?" Julia hesitated, now uncertain. She wasn't sure what she would do. "I know you love him Julia, and I know it's tough, but I think you need to tell him. And other than him I would trust no one." Julia nodded again, wishing she could speak, wishing she could raise more arguments, but she had nothing. He was right and she had to accept that. "Julia, Jonathan is going to wage war on the Shadowhunters. Those who are not with him will be slaughtered. And most importantly, he wants you. He wants to use you to create more like him. I don't know when this will happen but I fear it is soon. Times are about to become very difficult Julia. I just wanted to warn you."

_Will you help?_

"Of course, of course, my dear. I would never abandon you. And besides, without Alexander, I have no purpose at all. I will fight to see him again, or die trying."

She wrapped her arms around him. Then she wrote out one more question. _Did you tell this to Simon yet?_ "I'm actually off to meet with him after I leave you," he responded.

_Then go. And thank you Magnus. You don't know how much I appreciate this. All of this._

"Not a problem at all," he responded drawing her into another quick hug. "I'll see you soon."

With that, he departed, taking off in one direction while she took off in the other. She wandered back to the school, debating how to tell Jake, and determined to throw herself into her studies and fighting so that when they time came she could fight Jonathan.

Two more weeks passed and Julia still had not said a word to Jake. She did not know what to say. How do you tell the boy that you were falling more in love with every day that his father was a bad man? But at the end of the two weeks, something happened that made her almost completely forget that she had to tell him. In fact, it almost made her completely forget there was a war going on at all.

* * *

><p>"Jake," a voice rang out behind him saying his voice in greeting. He was confused. He had never heard the voice before. It was like a clear bell slicing through the air. The way the person said his name sounded close and personable, yet he had never heard it before. He turned away from his conversation with James and looked around. He saw Julia standing a few feet away smiling at him.<p>

"Hey Ju," he said with confusion. He looked past her and around her. "Do you see anyone else around? I thought I heard someone say my name." She shook her head no and he turned back to James to see him laughing. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"You," James responded.

"Didn't someone say my name?" Jake asked, confused.

"Yes!" James responded laughing.

"Why are you laughing? Who said my name? There's no one around!"

"Turn around Jake," James responded.

Jake did. Julia was a couple of steps closer. She took another step toward him. He saw her lips move and heard his name in the same clear voice. He stared at her for a moment confused and then it clicked. It was her. She was talking. He grinned. "Say it again," he said.

"Jake," she said. He loved it. There was nothing he thought he could love more than the sight of her, but hearing her voice… He didn't think he would ever not want to hear it.

"Keep talking," he said. "Say something. Anything."

"Like what?" she asked.

"Like that! Just speak!" he responded with glee.

"I'm not a dog Jake," she responded laughing. There it was. Her laughter. It was possibly better than her voice. He wanted to hear it again.

He just smiled at her. "So what? Now that I can talk you can't?" she asked.

"I don't know what to say," he responded. "I'm just so happy." He drew her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead.

They broke apart. "Congratulations," James said to her. "How does it feel?"

"Odd," she responded. "I just spent the last six months trying to figure out to get across what I meant without saying anything and I've already caught myself doing that forgetting that I can just say it."

"You'll get used to it," he said.

"I hope so," she laughed again. "Well I didn't want to interrupt you guys. I just wanted to let you know I got my voice back." She turned to leave them, but a hand stopped her.

"You don't really think you're leaving right now do you?" James asked as Jake grabbed her hand to stop her from going. She laughed.

"Well I was going to go read…" She paused, seeing the looks they both were giving her. "I guess not," she said.

The three of them spent the rest of the day laughing and talking. Julia was happy. She could talk. Even though she was saying things, the realization almost had not hit her yet. With the joy at actually being able to say things and respond to things, all bad thoughts were pushed from her mind. For the next two weeks, she threw herself into her studies and her fighting, knowing in the back of her mind there was a reason. The rest of her time was spent with Jake and James and Annie, helping them improve their fighting, or just hanging out. It wasn't until she heard the scream in the middle of the night that she remembered her whole conversation with Magnus almost a month earlier.


	9. Battle

*FLASHBACK*

"_Mommy!" a voice shouted. Clary knew it would be only seconds before Julia came running around the corner. Julia had just turned twelve and was already a better fighter than she herself was. Well, Julia was born and raised to be a Shadowhunter. Clary always protested strongly with Jace about Julia's training, but given the threat out there… She knew Julia had to be prepared one day. And so she allowed the vigorous training, even though she sometimes believed it was borderline Valentine style. But Jace never did hurt Julia. Maybe a bruise when they were fighting, or an accidental slice on the arm, but never anything too bad, and never anything intentional. Besides, Julia loved it. Every time Clary protested she would whine and put on an adorable pouty face that Julia just could not say no to. Still. She was just a twelve year old girl. Maybe they were too harsh with her._

_Julia almost slipped as she came around the corner, but instead gracefully used her momentum to twirl around and keep her balance. Clary sighed. If that had been her, she would have fallen._

"_Mommy!" Julia squealed, upon seeing her mother in the chair. She held something in her hand. It looked like a folded up piece of paper. _

"_What is it sweetie?" She asked as Julia skidded into a stop in front of her._

_Julia held the paper out to her. "Who's this?" she asked. Clary took the paper out of her hand. It wasn't paper, she discovered, but a page from a drawing book. In fact, it was page from her old drawing book. She unfolded the paper and saw a face staring back at her. The eyes were as dark as the black hair. _

"_Where did you get this honey?" she asked._

"_It was with daddy's things," Julia responded sweetly. _

"_And why were you in daddy's things?" she asked her daughter, ready to punish her._

"_Because you won't answer my questions," she responded defiantly. Clary stared at her in shock. She had expected her daughter to give a usual excuse like 'I was curious,' or 'I'm sorry mommy I know I shouldn't have.' She had not expected the blame to be shifted to her._

"_What do you mean honey?" she asked, slightly shaken. Her and Jace knew they would have to tell Julia about Sebastian, and she was constantly growing more curious and asking more questions about her parents past, but as of yet they had not answered any of her questions. They still thought she was too young._

"_Like right now. How you're avoiding telling me who that is."_

_Clary folded the drawing up so she wouldn't have to keep staring at that face. She looked her daughter and saw that she was not going to give. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment and then said, "okay sweetie, I guess you're old enough. Let's wait until daddy gets home and then we will all sit down and we will tell you everything."_

"_Everything?" Julia asked._

"_Everything," her mother responded. Julia smiled with delight. "Now go put this back where you got it from," she added, handing her daughter the drawing._

"_Okay," Julia responded with glee. She grabbed at the drawing and took off down the hallway. Clary sighed as she went. Years of harsh training had not impacted their daughter. She did not need to fear that Jace's hours of training her were impacting her personality or would scar her for life. They only seemed to make her happier. She sighed again, as she began to wonder how they would tell their daughter everything. _

_And they did tell her everything. That night, the three of them sat down and for hours Clary and Jace recounted the events of their youth, and warned her of the danger that they were sure would come around again someday…Sebastian._

* * *

><p>The scream tore through the night. It was followed by another. And then another. Julia jumped out of bed and threw on her gear. She grabbed her duffle bag of weapons, the picture of her with her parents, and her stele. It wasn't until she was about to leave the room when she paused. How could she be so sure there was a threat? She had acted without thinking, but maybe the screams were just something else. It wasn't necessarily an attack. But in the back of her mind, there was no doubt that it was. Julia took one last look at the room and got the strange feeling she would not be coming back to it, and then ran out into the hallway. She paused for a moment. Right for Annie, left for Jake. There were already other students in the hallway. Most were bleary eyed and tired, rubbing their eyes and staring around in confusion. Some stared at Julia, fully dressed in her gear and a knife in her hand, with shock.<p>

"Julia, what's going on?" someone asked. She turned. It was Amelia Whitewall.

Julia looked at Amelia. She was a reasonable and practical person. "We're under attack. Probably demon involvement. Warn everyone." With that, she took off again down the hallway. She could hear the shocked voices behind her, and then above them all Amelia's strong voice shouting, "calm down! Calm down! You heard her, we need to prepare!"

* * *

><p>Julia did not know if there were already demons in the school, or if they were just outside. She did not know if the Shadowhunters on Jonathan's side would fight with him now, or wait until later. She did not have the answers. If she did, her life would be a lot easier. The further into the building she got, the quieter it was. They probably could not hear the scream this deep in. She just started banging on doors as she ran by. She had not even seen a demon, or anyone fighting. All she had heard were those screams. What if she really was wrong? What if there was something else going on and there was no attack? She had just set everyone into a panic and was waking up random people, for no reason at all. She shook the thought away. It felt right. She just knew that this was it. Sebastian was coming for her. She just knew it.<p>

She started banging on Jake and James' door. There was no sound inside. She tried to turn the handle but it was locked. She kept banging, and then remembered she had a voice too. "Get up!" she shouted. After almost a minute of banging, the door was thrown open. Jake was standing there with his hair a mess, and no shirt on. She ignored the feeling she got at the sight of him and pushed him into his room, coming in after him and slamming the door shut. James was rolled over on his side and was staring at her.

Julia opened her voice to speak, but Jake said something first. "As much as I love 2a.m. booty calls, James is still in the room," he said, running a hand through his hair.

"Jake," Julia said. Both boys immediately became alert at the tense sound in her voice.

"What's going on?" Jake asked. He took a wary step backwards and was looking at her hand. She looked down at it too. She was still holding a knife. She quickly shoved it away.

"We have to go," she said. "The school's under attack."

Both boys moved quickly at her words. "You're sure?" James asked, climbing quickly out of bed.

"Yeah," she responded.

"By who?" Jake asked. Both boys were pulling out their gear and she turned around to give them a little privacy as they changed.

"Demons," she responded. "Maybe Shadowhunters."

She could hear both boys pause in what they were doing. She bit her bottom lip, still afraid to tell them everything. Despite what Magnus had said, she still could not get her father's voice out of her head. _"Don't tell anyone."_

"You can turn around now," Jake said.

Both boys were staring at her. "How do you know?" James asked.

Julia opened her mouth, uncertain of what to say. There was a loud bang that came from nearby. "We have to go," she said urgently.

They both did the same as she did; they ripped the pictures out of their frames and grabbed their weapons. The three of them ran out into the hallway. There were a couple people poking their heads out. "What's going on?" one of the boys asked them.

"The school's under attack," Jake responded. "Get ready to fight." The boy nodded and ducked back into his room.

* * *

><p>Three hours later Julia had no idea where Jake was. They had been separated nearly two hours ago. She had seen dead Shadowhunters, live Shadowhunters, and injured Shadowhunters. She herself was injured, although barely. There was a long but shallow slice down her left arm, and she was pretty sure her right wrist was sprained, but if it was, it was a light sprain.<p>

She was pretty sure the Clave had been informed and other Shadowhunters were sent in because she saw a lot of older Shadowhunters she did not recognize. She found herself alone in one of the dorm areas, and did not see any demons or Shadowhunters. She turned to go back where she knew there was fighting, when someone called her name. It was Jake. She turned around to face him.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he responded, jogging toward her. He stopped in front of her. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing. I was just about to go back to the fight. Where's James?" she asked, worried. Parabati were rarely without each other in battle. Unless one of them died. But Jake didn't look broken.

"He's in the West Wing helping get some of the younger kids out. One of them ran away and I ran after him. Little kid runs fast. He slipped through some small hole in a wall and I lost him. I'm on my way back now."

"Ok," she responded, putting her hand out for him to take.

"Julia," he said, instead of taking her hand. "What is going on? There's more to this than just an attack and you know what's going on. Now tell me."

"What're you talking about?" she asked, dropping her hand.

"Every demon I've encountered has asked me where you are. Now tell me what the hell is going on Julia." She paused and looked around them.

"We're in the middle of a battle Jake," she said.

"I'm not moving from this spot until you tell me what's going on!" His face was determined, and his feet were firmly planted on the ground.

"You'll get killed," she responded. He still didn't move. He just crossed his arms. There was a small explosion behind him and she saw the wall crumble and a demon began to climb through the new hole. "Jake," she said, the desperation in her voice growing. "It's a long story. Let's just go!" He still did not move. The demon was fast approaching. She ran up next to him and threw a knife at it. The demon stopped in its tracks and looked stupidly at the knife sticking out of its chest. It fell to the ground and disappeared. There did not appear to be any other demons coming through the hole.

Julia kicked open a door to the left and grabbed Jake's arm, pulling him with her. He fought against her, but she said, "I'll tell you, okay? Just get in the room." She shut the door behind them and glared at him. "You're so stubborn!" she said angrily.

"It worked didn't it," he shot back. "Just tell me what's going on."

"It's a long story," she responded.

"So give me the short version." Julia looked at him. Her face softened immediately. She could not stay mad at him. The room had a window. She went to look out it, but only saw dust and a couple flashes of light. She turned away and looked at Jake. "Julia," he said, stepping toward her. "Ju. I love you. I'm not trying to pick a fight with you. You're my girlfriend and I'm worried about you. I just want to know what's going on."

She sighed. "You heard the stories about my parents?" she asked.

"Of course," he responded. "Everyone has."

"Yeah, but no one knows the real story. The second time when my parents fought Sebast…um Jonathan, they did not kill him. My mother had the chance but she didn't."

"You mean you're parents let him live? He's still out there?"

Julia nodded. Jake sat down, his face a mask. "There's more to it," she said. He looked up at her.

"Tell me."

"When Jonathan was first brought back to life, he managed to put a rune on my dad's chest. It linked them. Whatever happened to one happened to the other. My mother had the chance to kill Jonathan but she couldn't do it. It would have been the same as killing my dad, and she couldn't go through with it. Somehow instead they managed to trap Seb…Jonathan in a kind of in between place where he wasn't on earth, but he wasn't dead either. That way, he could do nothing that would affect my dad, but my dad would not be dead because neither was Sebastian. Well he managed to get out and raise an army of demons. He came to my house. He took my family and their friends. He has tons of Shadowhunters in his service," she hesitated uncertain of how to proceed next.

He did not seem to notice that she was not done speaking. "You kept saying Seb something. Who's that?"

"When my parents first met him he was impersonating Sebastian Verlac. Really him and my dad share the same name, Jonathan Christopher, thanks to Valentine. It's easier to put the name Sebastian to him than to think that he deserves the same name as my dad."

"So now he's out and he's coming to get you."

"Yeah," she responded.

"Why does he want you so badly?" he asked.

"Revenge?" she responded. She did not want to mention that he wanted to use her to create more children. Jake seemed to realize she was holding something back. He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. He stepped right in front of her, his eyes looking deep into hers. Her lips parted slightly in anticipation and he leaned forward to kiss her.

After a moment their kiss deepened and he pushed her back against the wall. "Jake," she said softly. She had meant to say his name to dissuade him from kissing her again. They were in the middle of a battle, after all. But instead her voice came out longingly. But he seemed to know what she was thinking anyways.

His face was nestled into her neck and he kissed it softly. "What if I never see you again?" he asked. She pulled up his face so they were looking at each other again.

"You will," she said to him. She pulled his head toward hers and kissed him again. She went to pull away, but he wrapped his hands around her waist and puller her closer to him.

He finally broke away when there was a loud bang from nearby.

"I guess we should go fight," he said, reluctantly turning toward the door.

"Jake wait," Julia said, taking a step toward him.

He paused, his hand inches from the door handle. "What?" he asked.

"Your dad," she began. She still did not know what to say to him.

"What about him?" he asked.

"Jake." She stopped again. He had an impatient look on his face. "He's working with Sebastian," she blurted out. His expression turned stony. She could not tell what he was thinking.


	10. Leaving

Jake and Julia sat facing across from each other, not near enough to touch, but not very far apart. He had sat her down and made her tell him everything that had happened.

"This is bull," he finally said. "My dad was trying to help us. He let us go."

"He didn't really have a choice. The point was to not raise suspicion," she argued.

"He didn't report us!" he countered.

"You're dad only didn't report us to save his own skin! If he had said anything, there would have been a full investigation. Your dad is working with _him_!"

"How can you say that? How can you sit there and say that to me?" She knew he was just trying to push away the thought; trying to put the blame on her. Anything but to believe it was his own father.

"I heard it Jake! I told you everything I heard."

"You're lying." He said it, but he didn't sound like he believed it. She knew she was cracking him, breaking down the barrier of disbelief he had built around himself.

"Jake," she started. Then she realized she had no idea what to say. "I'm sorry."

He didn't respond, just looked down. She gave him a moment to gather himself. It was a lot of information to take in at once. He finally looked up, his golden brown eyes staring right into hers, and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when they both heard another bang.

He stood up abruptly, his face still unreadable. "We should go."

"Jake," she said softly.

"Let's just go. There _is_ a battle going on." He sounded angry.

She nodded and stood up. For the first time that she could remember he didn't reach back to take her hand before they went somewhere. She sighed and followed him. He opened the door and gestured for her to go in front of him. She was just about to step through the door when she felt his hand on her arm.

"Just one question," he said.

"What?" she asked.

His voice was definitely full of anger as he spoke this time. "Why didn't you tell me before now?"

Julia wasn't sure what to say. "Jake. I…I um," she started to say.

"Forget it," he said.

"Jake," she said urgently, ready to give an excuse, any excuse to stop him from looking at her the way he was right now. His eyes were full of anger and distrust. He had never looked at her with anything but adoration, or love, or at least likeness.

"Let's just go," he said, his voice urgent and angered.

* * *

><p>"Jake!" someone was shouting his name. It was a man's voice. He turned around but could not see very well through the dust.<p>

"Who's there?" he asked cautiously, tightening his grip on the sword he was holding. He had left Julia nearly an hour ago, telling her he was going to find James and that he just needed to think. She had bit her bottom lip, looking so cute that he almost changed his mind. But he really needed to be alone. He had to think. He hadn't even gone to find James. Instead, Jake had wandered around until he had found the battle. As he stood paused now, waiting for the person to reveal themselves, he realized he had not done much thinking. He had thrown himself into the fight, avoiding thinking at all.

He saw a foot come through the cloud of dust and watched as the outline of a person emerged. It was an older man, with dark brown hair. The man took another step and Jake took a step back without thinking. A moment later he sighed with relief. "Dad," he said. Then it hit him, everything Julia had told him came rushing back to him in a moment of thought. He tensed again.

"Thank the Angel you're still alive," he said, his expression one of concern. Then he seemed to notice the look on Jake's face. "What's wrong son?" he asked.

"Is it true?" Jake asked.

"Is what true?" Jake did not respond immediately. He had his doubts about what Julia had said to begin with, but his dad's expression really was one of bewilderment. He was either a really good liar, or had no idea what Jake was talking about.

He spoke slowly, afraid to accuse his dad, but said, "Are you with all this? Are you on the same side as these…these demons?"

"Jake," his father responded, taking a step toward him. "What a ridiculous notion. Whatever put that idea in your head? Or should I say who put that idea in your head?" Jake took a step away from him. He had seen it, the look in his father's eyes. It was something he had discovered at a young age, but something he had never let on that he knew. When his father lied to him, his eyes would shift. Only the slightest bit so you had to be looking for it to notice it, but Jake was, and he saw it.

He backed away rapidly, his mouth opening in shock. "It's true," he said quietly. His father's eyes turned dark. "I can't believe it. It's true. She was right. How could you?" he asked. His voice rose as he continued to speak. "How could you join _him?_ I cannot believe you! He's half demon dad!"

"Jake," his father said calmly, stepping toward him again. But Jake continued to back away, although he knew he would soon reach the end of the hall. "Jake," his father said, his voice slightly more aggravated. "Relax son, it's all a ruse."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"Put the sword down son, do you really think you're going to fight me?" he responded instead.

"Tell me," Jake responded without lowering the sword.

"I'm trying to save the Shadowhunters, not destroy them. Sebastian came to me a long time ago. I had no choice but to join him. It was join or die. But once I was in, I saw the good I could do. I worked my way up in his favor, and one day soon I will turn on him, and it will be the end of him."

"You're working against him?" Jake asked, uncertain. "Against him from underneath him?"

"Yes!" his father responded enthusiastically. "What choice did I have really?"

"What choice?" Jake asked, his voice filling with disgust. "What choice? Do you ever think about the consequences of your actions? How many people have been hurt because you're on his side? What about Julia?" he asked.

"Oh yes," his father said, rather cruelly, "you're little plaything."

"She is my girlfriend," Jake shot back angrily. "I love her."

"You don't know the first thing about love," his father responded.

"And you do?" Jake asked. He instantly regretted asking. His mother had died when he was very young and his father never really wanted to talk about it.

"More than you will ever know," he responded icily. "Jake, I don't know what she has told you, and I did not want to intercede in your life, but Julia Herondale is not exactly a good person. A good Shadowhunter, yes, but a good person, no. No Herondale has ever led to good. They hurt everyone who cares about them. It's like it's a family trait. They're bitter, sarcastic and only care about themselves." He made to keep speaking, but Jake cut him off.

"Enough!" he said. "None of what you've just said describes Julia, other than the sarcasm. She is not bitter and she cares about everyone around her. Regardless, her being a Herondale has nothing to do with you trying to kidnap her for him." He refused to say Jonathan's name, preferring to think of him as a nonentity.

"She was never in any harm Jake. Did you notice that he does not have her? We questioned her yes, but I would not allow him to take her. If I really wanted to take her for him, do you honestly think it would have been that hard?"

Jake didn't respond. Everything Julia had said made sense. But now everything his dad was saying made sense too. They couldn't both be right.

* * *

><p>Jake went to find James and they set out to find the battle. They spent another hour fighting, but Jake could tell the fight was ending. Whether the demons were winning or the Shadowhunters, he could not tell. He just knew the battle was going to be over soon. He had to find Julia, he suddenly realized. He had to talk to her. James saw the look in his eyes. There was a lull in the battle and they were leaning against the wall taking a breather.<p>

"You're thinking about her?" James asked. Jake had filled him in quickly on what she had told him. True to his nature, James had stayed calm and thoughtful.

Jake turned his head to look at James. His best friend for as long as he could remember, his parabati, the one person he could rely on. "Be honest," he said, "Do you think she was telling the truth?"

"I think she was telling the truth as she saw it," James responded.

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"Everything she said and everything she told you she heard is true, I'm sure. I don't think its Julia's word you need to question. I think it's your dads." Jake looked at him. "Your dad could be telling you the truth. It makes sense, and it would match Julia's story. Or he could be completely lying."

Jake sighed. "I hate it when you're right," he said.

"Jake," James said.

"Yeah?" Jake asked.

"I think you should decide soon?" James said.

"Why?" Jake asked. "I need to think about this?"

"Demons just attacked our school, looking for Julia. I don't think Alicante is safe anymore and I'm pretty sure Julia is going to leave. It's her or your dad."

"I hate ultimatums," Jake responded.

"Don't we all," James said. "Well," he began, pushing himself away from the wall, "I say, we try and figure this out, and try and find our girls? I'm gonna go try and find out if Annie is still around anywhere and you find Julia and sort this out."

"Sounds good," Jake responded. They gave each other a hug, letting it suffice as a goodye. "Meet at the tower?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," James said. Located just outside the schools grounds, the tower was a tall spire jutting out of the ground, built as a memorial to a long past battle. It had often been their meeting place growing up at the school. They would sneak away on what they thought were adventures but were really just them sneaking around town.

* * *

><p>His finding Julia was a complete accident. He was chasing a demon down a hallway and saw her drawing an iratze on her arm. She drew out her knife and quickly dispatched the demon, and then went back to drawing the iratze.<p>

"Do you want me to do that?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Done," she said, putting her stele away and turning to him.

He pulled her toward him and kissed her. "I love you," he whispered.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly and whispered back. "Come with me." He kissed her again, putting off the moment. The moment when he would have to leave her. "I have to go," she whispered. "Come with me." She drew away from him.

"Ju," he whispered, pulling her back in. He rested his lips on her forehead, breathing her in. "Julia, I love you. But…" he hesitated. His heart was splitting in two. He did not want to do this. How could he leave her? She was perfect for him. She was his life. But his father… "But Julia I can't."

"You won't come with me?" she asked, stunned. She pulled away from him.

"Julia," he responded, his voice breaking. "I…I can't. It's my father. I saw him. He said he's not really working with Sebastian, just pretending. He said he's trying to help, trying to save us. I'm not sure if he's lying or not yet, but he won't hurt me. I can't leave him."

"The Shadowhunters have gone rogue. Underneath you father. And you don't think he's one of them? Even after I told you what I heard."

"He's my father. Understand, please." His eyes were pleading with her. Nearby a burst of light went off and they felt the ground shake.

"And you choose your father over me. Your cold manipulative father over the girl you love?" she asked her voice going cold and angry. She could feel her heart breaking. She had given him evidence that his father was part of the Shadowhunters who were supporting Sebastian but he still would not come with her. Magnus was right. He would choose his father.

"I can't," he responded, his voice barely a whisper.

"Well," she responded wrenching her hand out of his. "I have to go."

"Julia, wait," he responded.

She spun on him. "I cannot afford to let Sebastian get me and I cannot fight all these demons alone. But go ahead Jake. Go back to the comfort of your family name. Let your father embrace you while demons are protecting your house." He looked stunned and slightly angry. She spun and sprinted away putting all of her anger and heartbreak into her run knowing that no one could catch her.

Jake watched her go, all the words he wanted to say left unspoken.

* * *

><p>She stared at the blank wall, her ears listening for any sounds around her. She could not find Magnus anywhere. She tried to contact him, but had no way of knowing if he had gotten the message or not. She wondered briefly about him and Simon, but pushed the thought away. She was going to have to disappear. It would be better if no one knew where she was. She needed to leave. Her mind clearly recalled the rune her mother had taught her long ago. She had showed it to her with the promise that she would only use it for an emergency. Julia believed that trying to escape from a lunatic half demon half Shadowhunter who wanted to use you to make children counted as an emergency. She looked around her quickly, still hesitating. The image of Jake threatened to jump to the front of her mind but she pushed it back. Finally, knowing she could delay no longer, Julia began to draw on the wall with her stele. After a moment, a shimmering doorway opened up before her. Although she had never actually seen the place, she knew she had it right. She lifted the duffle bag of weapons up onto her shoulder, and stepped through.<p> 


	11. The City

She had always wanted to see New York City. Her mother had been raised here, and her father had been here since he was young. Isabelle and Alec had been raised here as well and Magnus had once been the High Warlock of Brooklyn. Julia could not have possibly imagined it would be this wonderful. The bustling streets, the traffic, people shoving her out of their way as they rushed off to wherever they were going. She saw people hailing what she knew were cabs from what her parents said, climbing in and having them take them to different parts of the city. She thought about grabbing one and then realized she not only had no way to pay them but she had nowhere to go.

A sense of loneliness filled her. She had no idea where to go, or what to do. She could not find the Shadowhunters and she certainly could not mingle with the Downworlders. She would have to attempt to be a normal human she guessed. This was going to be hard. But she was tough. After all, her grandma had done just this same thing and she had turned out fine. Although, she had had painting to get by one whereas Julia could think of nothing other than killing people for money. She hoisted her duffle bag over her shoulder and just began to walk, in no particular direction.

-one month later-

Roy Machion entered Taki's and headed to a booth, his brother stopping behind him to flirt with one of the waitresses. He shook his head, but was smiling. His brother had always been a ladies man, but he always had his back. He sat down in their usual table. He casually struck up a conversation with the vampires sitting behind him, cutting it off when his brother sat down.

"What're you having today Emmett?" he asked. His brother and him looked a lot alike. They both had black hair and dark blue eyes. They had been raised at the institute in New York, which their dad headed. Emmett had just turned 19, but he loved the city and had no desire to travel anywhere else, so for now he was staying in the city.

"I'm in a burger kinda mood," he responded. "You?" he asked.

Roy was about to respond but his eye was caught by a girl passing by. She had very blonde hair; hair that could almost be described as golden. He had never seen her before in his life, but instantly knew she was a Shadowhunter. She immediately traveled to the back corner, not looking around her at all. He watched as she mentioned something to a man he assumed was a warlock in the back, and then he whispered something back, ushering her through a door. He looked around behind him quickly and then followed her into the room.

"Earth to Roy," someone was saying and he snapped back into focus. "You alright bro?" Emmett asked looking at him in concern. "You spaced out for a minute there."

"Yeah, sorry," he said. "Did you see that girl?" he asked, still staring at the door.

"I see a lot of girls," Emmett responded. Roy rolled his eyes.

"The Shadowhunter girl who just went into the back room?"

Emmett was saved from responding by the waitress coming to take their order. They placed their orders and the waitress paused for a moment, staring at Emmett, finally giving him a wink before leaving to place their order. Roy watched her go, her long hair reflecting green in the light. She had to be part fairy. He shook his head again and turned back to his brother.

"So you didn't see her?" he asked.

"The good looking blonde?" Emmett asked, taking a sip of his water. "Of course I noticed. But clearly not as much as you did."

"Something just seemed up. What is a Shadowhunter doing here without checking in with the Institute? And what is she doing slumming with the Downworlders? Something doesn't feel right."

"How do you know she didn't check in at the Institute?" Emmett asked. He thought Roy was making a big deal about it, but figured he would placate him.

"Why wouldn't I?" Roy asked.

"It's not like mom and dad tell us everything. Maybe she checked in, let them know she was here and then left," Emmett replied reasonably.

"She looked young, probably about my age. She'd have to live at the Institute," Roy countered.

"I don't know. There's a lot of explanations."

"Right," Roy replied sarcastically, "and I sleep with more girls than you. Come on Emmett, look into this with me."

"Maybe she's avoiding the Institute because she's noticed something's up with the Clave like we have and she doesn't trust us." Roy looked around him quickly after Emmett said this.

"Are you nuts?" he asked, lowering his voice. "You have no idea who could be listening. Why would you say that out loud?"

"I'm not really worried about it," Emmett responded. He looked as he always did; chill, relaxed and laid back. Sometimes Roy wondered if he took some kind of drug, but knew Emmett would never. Their food arrived and both of them dug right in, stopping all conversation. Roy ate slowly, hoping to see the girl leave. After they had stayed far longer than usual, and Emmett noticed that Roy kept staring at the door in the back, he finally gave in.

"Alright, I'll make you a deal. I'll help you find out what's up with this girl if we leave this place. I'm starting to feel like a loiterer."

Roy looked away from the door and into his brother's eyes. "Deal," he said.

* * *

><p>Roy entered the Moonlight Bar. The girl he was looking for was sitting in a bar stool all by herself. They had been watching her for three weeks, and questioned several Downworlders, but had only learned that she had been trading with the Downworlders for information. But whatever the information was about, they would not tell. He and Emmett had final decided to try and talk to her. How much of a threat could she be? He vaguely noticed that other people in the bar were staring at her, but as of yet it did not look like any had talked to her. He looked at her for a moment and then walked toward her.<p>

"I'm Roy," he said, finally approaching her. "Roy Machion."

The girl set down her drink. She was staring straight in front of her, seemingly intent upon reading the label on a bottle of Jack. She did not respond, but he knew she had heard him. He sat down in the stool next to her, glancing quickly behind him. Emmett nodded to him. Even though Emmett was three years older, Roy knew he could always count on his brother to watch his back. He turned to look at the girl. "I've seen you in here a lot," he said.

She picked up her glass, swirled it once, took a drink, and set it back down. "I come here a lot," she responded, still not looking at him.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She turned her gaze to him finally. Her gold eyes pierced his. She did not look curious, or interested. Only annoyed. "Julia," she said shortly. She turned back to her drink, taking another sip.

"Julia…?" he trailed, hoping she would finish it off.

"Not important," she responded, still not looking at him. He did not know why, but he really wanted her to look at him. He really wanted to see her gold eyes again.

"I've noticed that you…," he began, but she cut him off.

"I'd suggest you and your friend back there leave," she said. Her voice was clear but cold. "I'm not someone you would care to get involved with."

"Let's say I'm already involved," he responded.

She gave a short humorless laugh. "And what would leave you so involved with me when we have never met?"

"Let's stick with curiosity," he responded.

"Curiosity?" she questioned, drinking the rest of her drink. "And what about me is so curious to you?" she requested, turning once more to look at him. Her hair framed her face, bangs swept off to the side. Her golden eyes gazed at him again.

"Curious," he paused as though considering the meaning of the word. "My brother and I think it's curious that there's a Shadowhunter here who has not checked in with the Institute. One that has been seen trading for information with Downworlders."

"And by a Shadowhunter you mean me," she said. "Shadowhunters are free to travel at their own will. I was unaware I had to check in with the Institute."

"You don't," he said. He was afraid he had pushed her a bit too much. She seemed angered.

"Then what is the purpose of your visit?" Julia asked.

"Like I said," he responded, "curiosity."

* * *

><p>Julia had no idea who this boy next to her was. Well that was not technically true. He was Roy Machion. And she assumed he lived at the Institute. The last thing she needed was members of the Institute looking into her. She had seen him come with an older boy, probably his brother given their similar appearances. There did not seem to be any adults around. Perhaps they thought she would respond better to someone her own age, or maybe Roy was telling the truth. Maybe him and his brother just found her curious and decided to check her out. Well that was the last thing she needed. She could not have Shadowhunters getting involved in her business.<p>

"I don't believe such a thing as common curiosity would bring you here today. You have no idea who I am or how dangerous I can be," she told him. She was trying to do everything she could to just get him to walk away without having to fight him. That would only draw unnecessary attention to herself and she would have to run into hiding again. "With one barely over age Shadowhunter to cover your back, you're not much of a threat."

"You have no idea how good we are," he countered. She laughed.

"It doesn't matter. All I know is that I'm better than you are."

"Cocky much?" he asked.

"It's not cockiness when it's true," she responded.

"Yet you say it with a cocky air," he said.

"Yes, well I am awesome." The bartender came to ask her if she wanted another drink but she waved him away. "If you'll excuse me," she said, rising from her chair. "I have to be going."

"If you don't answer my questions, perhaps I'll have to get the head of the Institute involved," he threatened.

"And I would assume that would be your father?" she asked. She hoped he wouldn't so she didn't have to go into hiding again, but she kept cool. "If you were to do that then you would find that I had disappeared. And then you would never see me again and I know how awfully disappointing that is given how incredible I am." She did not know what made her say that last part. A part of her wanted to stay, talk to him and get to know him. He intrigued her. But she knew it was dangerous. Far too dangerous. So she had to leave. But maybe she could at least see him again…No. It was too dangerous. He was too curious already. He stood up as she did, his body tensing as if he was worried she was going to attack him. She shot him a glance saying maybe I will if you get involved, and then swept out the door giving a wink to his brother.

* * *

><p>The first time they spoke had been highly unsuccessful, but Roy wanted to talk to her again. Julia. He mulled the name over in his head. It couldn't be… he thought. But she fit the description. He remembered several weeks ago when an alert had gone out to all the Institutes to look out for Julia Herondale, the daughter of Jace and Clary Herondale. She had gold eyes and golden blonde hair. It had to be her. There could not possibly be another Shadowhunter who fit her physical description, let alone had the name Julia as well.<p>

Roy debated for a long time about telling his parents. He lay on the couch in the library, staring up at the ceiling. She was _the _Julia Herondale, perhaps one of the best Shadowhunters ever. He knew her parents had disappeared under strange circumstances, but what she supposedly did at the school? It did not seem right to him. Even to his parents the report had not made sense. It had said that she committed mass murder at the school in Alicante leaving it in ruins. Although no other reports about the school had come in, they had heard from close friends who had a daughter at the school that there were demons involved. The Clave was trying to keep it hushed up and anyone who talked about it was severely punished.

The fact that his parents had their doubts almost caused him to tell them. They had confided in their two sons that this, among other things, this search for Julia was leading them to believe that the Clave was corrupted and that something was going on. They kept up a front of following the Clave, but it was all an act. He knew he could tell his parents and they would probably help him find this girl and talk to her without informing the Clave until they were certain she was bad, but something held him back. He was on his own with this. Well, he had his brother. Roy did not think she was bluffing about disappearing if he got his parents involved. And if she disappeared he doubted he would find her. She had already avoided the Clave for over a month. She had to be smart. He already could tell she was sarcastic and slightly bitter, but underneath that there was something else. He was determined to figure her out.

* * *

><p>Julia was woken up by someone banging on her door. The room she was staying in was ridiculously tiny. It literally fit her bed and a two drawer dresser. The walls were a dull whitish gray and the window did not open. The one light centered overhead was so dirty it barely let any light in. But it was perfect. It was exactly what she needed. She did not have many possessions so she did not need much room. Both drawers were full of weapons and the duffle bag lying next to it had a couple items of clothing in them. On top of the dresser were two books. Pride and Prejudice lay on top of a Spanish version of Don Quixote. They were her two favorite books and she had gone to find them as soon as she somewhere to stay. Whoever was outside her door knocked again.<p>

"What?" she asked irritably.

"I have more information!" a high pitched male voice squawked. Julia sighed and rolled her eyes. It was Jarvis, an unfortunate warlock who had born with no powers. He had a bald head and was a short bent over man.

"You tell me all the time you have more information but I have yet to hear anything new from you," she said.

"It's true this time! It's true!" he squeaked. His voice sounded so pleading that she took pity and let him in. They both crowded into her little room. Julia pushed herself as far back onto her bed as she could and he eagerly squeezed himself into her room.

"He's set up in a cave!" he said, eagerly.

"What?" she asked.

"The one you're looking for! He's set up in a cave outside of Alicante."

"How did you hear this?" she asked.

"A Moloch demon whispered it to me on the street."

"Just randomly? A Moloch demon just happened to pop in and tell you where Jonathan is?" she asked skeptically.

"I've been searching for information for you!" he said excitedly. "The demon had heard. He came and told me."

Julia was a bit shocked by this. Demons did not generally search for informants and give them the information they wanted. There was only one explanation she could think of.

"What's he doing there?" she asked. "What's he doing in the cave?"

"I do not know. That's all I heard. All he told me."

"Thank you Jarvis," she said.

"My payment?" he asked, excitedly.

She reached over and grabbed the money she had stashed from her top drawer. She saw his eyes widen as he saw all the weapons in the drawer, and she quickly closed it. "Here you go," she said handing it to him.

He left hurriedly, counting the money as he left. She sat there wondering about what he had told her. She wanted to rush off to Alicante immediately to check out his story, but knew that it was probably not a good idea. The most likely reason for a demon going to find an informant and giving him that valuable of information would be that the demon was working for Jonathan and he had sent it to let her know where he was. He had to be trying to trap her. But trying to trap her or not, it was the only viable information she had that told her where Jonathan was, if you could consider information from Jarvis reliable. She lay back down on her bed, weighing her options. She could go to the cave and hope that it was where her parents were being held, although it was most certainly a trap. Or she could stay here, keep searching for information, and hope she came up with something soon. Plus, she was hoping something would come up about Magnus or Simon. She had heard nothing from or about either of them for over a month. She was beginning to get worried. Julia sighed, knowing that as badly as she wanted to find her parents, she should have more information before going to fight Sebastian. She drifted back to sleep, falling into dreams about Jonathan, her parents and an endless amount of demons.


	12. Trust

**Hey guys, hope you liked the new characters. Thanks so much for your reviews, they make me very happy And because you have made me happy I will fill you in on a little reassurance spoiler. Jake will be back eventually! Probably not for a couple more chapters, but he is still a part of this story. Now here's chapter 12, hope you enjoy!**

_An Angel was standing in front of her. She assumed it was Raziel but really couldn't tell. "What do you want?" she asked him. His mouth was open in a silent scream. He was beautiful and glorious but fearsome and powerful. She could not tell if he was in pain or was screaming in anger. "What can I do?" she asked instead. She felt powerless and helpless next to him. A voice suddenly filled her head. _You have many talents Julia Herondale. You can save everyone, but you must let go of that which you have lost. He will return to you one day, but you must let him go.

"_You're bleeding," she responded, suddenly afraid for him. Little holes were opening up across his chest and blood was starting to pour out. "Can I help you?" she asked._

_His voice filled her mind again. _I have come here to help you.

"_What do you want me to do?" she asked. Blood was trailing down his stomach now and she stared at him with concern. _

When he comes to you, you must let him go, _the angel responded._

"_When who comes?" she asked. "Sebastian?" The angel did not respond. He had begun to recede backwards into the shadows behind him. "Who?" she shouted after him. But even as she said it someone began to appear from the side of the Angel. As the Angel disappeared into the darkness, the figure became more prominent. Within a moment she could see his soft brown hair. The eyes were a darker brown with little light specs of gold on the edges._

"_Jake?" she whispered. He didn't say anything at first, just came closer to her. He was standing right in front of her now. He pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. _

"_Ju," he whispered back finally._

"_What're you doing here?" she asked._

"_I wanted to see you. Be with you. I came to find you."_

_Julia sighed with relief. "I love you," she whispered. "I've missed you so much."_

"_Don't worry," he said calmly. "We can be together now. Forever." She smiled and put her hand in his. "Come along," he said. "I want to show you something." She followed him wordlessly, letting him drag her along and just enjoying her hand being in his. He took her to the top of a hill._

"_Look Julia," he said. "Look what our love has wrought."_

_Julia looked down. Below them was Alicante. She stared in confusion. It was burning. The whole city was on fire. She could hear the faint screams coming from below. "I don't understand," she replied._

_He turned to her smiling. "This was a result of our love. But it doesn't matter," he said wrapping an arm around her waist. "We're together now."_

"_This is what happened because of us?" she asked, pulling away from him._

"_Aren't you happy?" he asked in confusion. "We're together now. I love you."_

"_This can't be happening," she said. "I don't want this."_

"_You don't want me?" he asked, his voice broken and hurt. But even as he said it she noticed he was fading. She looked at him._

"_I love you Jake, but this?" she spread her arm out over Alicante. "Is this worth it?"_

"_Being with you is always worth it," he responded faintly. He was slowly receding back and she realized she didn't want to lose him._

"_Wait! Jake. Don't go," she said._

_He didn't respond but only stared at her, his expression full of pain._

"_Jake," she whispered. "Don't leave me." She just had time to see his smile before he receded into the darkness. She was left alone on the top of the hill, the city of Alicante burning below her. _

* * *

><p>Julia woke with a start. She had tried very hard to keep Jake off her mind ever since she had left. Even now her mind tried to push him away. But the dream confused her and she could not help but think of him as she tried to interpret its meaning. Could the Angel really be warning her that if she and Jake were together, Alicante would burn? She guessed it didn't matter. Jake was not here. He was back in the safety and comfort of his home, she thought bitterly. But the Angel said he was coming back. Although she wasn't sure if he meant Jake, but based on the way the dream had gone, she assumed it was. There was no way Jake would come here though. He had no idea where to find her and she had never mentioned New York City. Besides, she reasoned, it was just a dream.<p>

* * *

><p>Roy could not stop thinking about Julia. He grew to hate the hours he had to spend training because they were times that required his whole attention and he could not think of her. Emmett seemed to notice his growing obsession but didn't say anything. Day after day Roy would go to Taki's or the Moonlight Bar, hoping to see her. By the end of the week he was beginning to give up hope, thinking that she probably had disappeared. He was just exiting Taki's, his head bowed down to shelter him slightly from the rain when he ran into someone.<p>

"I'm sorry," he said, looking up. Beads of water pelted his face. Wavy hair surrounded the face in front of him, not quite soaking wet yet but wet enough he could tell she had been in the rain for a while. His blue eyes locked on her golden eyes and he stared at her with shock.

"I suppose I'll look past it this one time," she said. "Just make sure you pay attention next time."

She made to go around him but paused when he spoke. "Are you always this much of a jerk?" he asked. She frowned, her face turning very serious. "Not always," she said.

Roy frowned. He had expected her to give a snide comment back, not to admit that she wasn't always this way.

"Are you hungry?" she asked unexpectedly.

"I…" he had gone into Taki's but he had only been looking for her. He had not eaten anything. But he didn't want her to think that he had just gone in and not eaten. What the hell? He asked himself. What did he care what she thought? This was his chance to talk to her.

"Yeah," he responded, "I am."

He followed her back into Taki's as she took a seat in a corner booth. He sat across from her and a waitress placed menus in front of them and took their drink orders.

Roy had no idea what to say. He stared at Julia over his menu. She appeared to be intently reading hers, her golden hair spilling across her face. She looked up at him suddenly and he quickly looked down at his menu. When he looked up again she had put her menu down and was staring at him. She was leaning back against the booth, looking casual and relaxed. He tried to look relaxed as well, but his heart was beating rapidly. Why was this strange girl setting off his heart? She was rude and secretive and even she had said that he should stay away from her.

"Do you know what you want?" she asked.

"Yeah," he responded. He didn't know what to say after that so he just fiddled around with his menu.

"Were you looking for me?" she asked. Roy looked up at her. Her golden eyes pierced his as he wondered how to answer.

"Yes," he responded truthfully.

"Why?" she asked.

"I know who you are," he answered.

She leaned back, her eyes shifting away from his. "And you've come to turn me in?" she asked.

"No," he said. Questions jumped into his mind that he wanted to ask her, the main ones being what was she doing here and why was she trading with Downworlders?

"Then why bother looking for me?" she asked.

"Curiosity," he responded.

"That excuse will only last so long," she said.

"It's not an excuse. Besides, you didn't make it hard to find you. If you really want to hide from the Shadowhunters you should probably stop frequenting the same places that we do."

"I was hungry," she said. "Besides, I'm not trying to hide from the Shadowhunters. In fact, I'm pretty sure they know where I am."

"That's not possible," he said shocked. "If they knew where you were they would have taken you in already. You're the number one looked for Shadowhunter. There's lookouts posted for you at every Institute."

"I know," she said calmly.

"And yet you think that they know where you are and they haven't taken you in yet?"

* * *

><p>Julia stared at Roy thoughtfully. She had no idea why she had even invited him to eat with her. She was drawn to him. He was good looking, bold and intriguing. Thoughts of Jake filled her mind and she guiltily looked away from Roy. She tried to push those thoughts away. Jake made his decision. He was probably resting comfortably at home, avoiding looking at the horrors around him. He was probably trying to convince his father that he was wrong, or sitting idle, convinced that his father would turn on Sebastian soon. He was far away from her. Right in front of her was a blue eyed, black haired, good-looking Shadowhunter with no apparent intention to turn her in to the Clave.<p>

After a moment of hesitation she threw all caution into the wind. "The Clave is being controlled by an outside force that doesn't want to be revealed yet. You've probably heard of him; Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern. I think they know where I am but they haven't figured out how to get to me yet without revealing that he's alive."

"Wait what?" Roy asked, his face filling with shock. He opened his mouth to say more but a waitress came over.

"Sorry it took me so long to come take your order," she said. "There was a problem in the kitchen."

"No problem," Julia responded kindly. "I'll have a mango berry shake and a burger."

"Fries good?" the waitress asked.

"Yeah," Julia replied.

"And for you sweetheart?" she asked, turning toward Roy.

"I'll have a chicken and steak wrap," he said. "And a coke."

"I'll put that right in for you," the waitress said, taking their menus.

Roy didn't waste any time. The second she walked away he looked around quickly to make sure no one was paying attention to them and then said, "Jonathan Morgenstern is dead. You're dad killed him."

"That's what they told everyone." She hesitated before speaking again. She could either tell him everything, or stop now and just walk away. There was something in his eyes that told her she could trust him, so she continued. "I don't trust Downworlders. I don't trust other people. I don't trust other Shadowhunters. And I most definitely do not trust the Clave. Can I trust you?" she asked.

Roy looked at her, his body relaxing. "I don't trust the Clave either," he said.

Julia let out a sigh. She would be risking a lot, but the second he said that she knew what she was going to do. She would tell him everything. There was every possibility that he was lying to her and that he would turn on her the second she told him everything. Unfortunately, she was running out of options, so she decided to trust him. "I'm taking a risk. But I feel like I can trust you. I'll tell you my story, but not here. We'll talk after we eat."

"Sounds good," he responded. The rest of their meal was spent with pointless chatter. They talked about simple things like the city and the weather. The entire time Julia's mind was screaming at her to run. What she was doing was ridiculous. She couldn't trust Roy, she didn't even know him. She had a strong urge to get up and just run as far as she could away from the city. She could get away easily and then she could go back into hiding, sticking to underground meetings and staying off the radar. She was putting herself at a huge risk. Yet Julia continued to sit there.

They finished their meal and paid, leaving Taki's quickly. Julia began to walk, knowing exactly where she wanted to go. Roy followed behind her, trailing along wordlessly. Julia entered the park, sitting on a bench by a statue. It was a heroic statue; a police officer on the back of a charging horse. Julia stared at it while Roy settled himself next to her, wishing she were on a horse galloping away from here. But she had made her decision and she would follow through. Whether Roy screwed her over or not, she would tell him everything.

"So?" he prompted when she didn't say anything for a minute.

"So," she replied, not sure where to start.

"You have a story to tell me?" he said.

"I'm just trying to figure out where to start," she responded. The wind picked up slightly, ruffling her hair. She ran her hand threw her hair and said, "Everyone thinks my dad killed Jonathan, but he didn't. A couple years before the huge battle that killed my grandparents and countless others, Jonathan was brought back to life by Lilith to balance out my mother asking the Angel to bring my dad back to life."

"Yeah, I've heard all this," Roy responded, not sure where Julia was going with this.

"When Jonathan was brought back to life, in the process a rune was drawn on both him and my dad, connecting them. Anything that happened to one happened to the other. My mom had the chance to kill Jonathan but knew my father would die to, and so she didn't." Julia talked for more than an hour, telling Roy about how her parents had trapped Jonathan in a sort of middle ground place where he couldn't affect them and how she had been raised to fight for when Jonathan got out. She told Roy about the night her parents were taken, about the Silencing Rune, and about being taken for questioning by people who ultimately were controlled by Jonathan. She briefly mentioned Jake, saying he was a friend who helped her out but decided to stay behind. By the end of the story, Julia found herself expressing her fears for Magnus and Simon, worried that they had been taken because she hadn't heard anything from them in so long. She finished her story saying, "and so now I'm here in New York City with one lead that's probably not true, telling everything to a Shadowhunter who probably thinks I'm crazy, and is going to turn me in the second I finish this story."

"Or," Roy responded, "You're sitting here talking to a fellow Shadowhunter who doesn't think you're crazy and believes everything you said and doesn't plan on turning you in."

Julia looked at Roy. She had avoided looking at him the entire time she spoke, afraid that if she did she would stop talking and just take off. His face was filled with kindness and concern, not disbelief like she expected. "That's a lot for someone our age to go through. Even as a Shadowhunter."

Julia shrugged. "Not much I can do about it," she responded.

"You're doing about all that you can do," he said. "You're fighting. If nothing else, you're at least trying to find your parents and everyone else, and take down Jonathan."

"Every day I wake up feeling like I didn't try hard enough," she said.

"Most people would have given up already," he responded. "Don't be so down on yourself."

Julia just nodded but didn't respond. "How did you do it?" Roy asked.

"Do what?" she responded.

"You came to New York with nothing but a bag of weapons. A month later you're trading with Downworlders, paying for meals, and I'm sure you have somewhere to live."

Julia smiled at that. "It's amazing how easy it is to make money when you have some kind of a talent. Mine happens to be knife throwing. A couple of drunken Downworlder's and a bet that you can throw a knife better than them, and you can make money pretty quickly."

"That's all you did?" Roy asked, laughing, "You conned a couple of drunk Downworlders out of their money by throwing knives?"

"It was the only thing I could think of at the time," she responded.

"And then you got others to trust you enough to trade with you for information?" he asked.

"I can be very persuasive," she responded. Roy started laughing but was cut off by someone saying his name.

"Roy," the person said. Julia looked along with Roy. An older boy was walking toward them, his features almost identical to Roy's. She had seen him before at the Moonlight Bar. It had to be Roy's older brother. Next to him was an older man, with the same black hair, but brown eyes. Roy's face looked back at Julia's, his expression uncertain. She tensed, ready to take off. But for some reason she didn't. The older boy and the man were smiling at seeing Roy. As the approached the bench, they looked at Julia. The older boy continued smiling, his face sparking with recognition. But the older man next to him tensed slightly at the sight of her.

"It can't be," he said softly. She stood up abruptly, her mind telling her to take off. However, she did not move because he did not say it with malice, distrust, or anger. He said it as if he had never expected to see her, but was so glad he had.

"You're Julia Herondale," he said taking a step toward her. She took a step back.

"Who wants to know?" she asked. All of her senses were kicking into overdrive as she prepared to fend him off. There was no way any adult Shadowhunter was going to let her go after finding out who she was.

"I'm not going to turn you in," he said calmly, putting his hands up. "We've never met, but I've always been on your side. The Clave is corrupt and I know you know that. I also know that you are probably the only Shadowhunter with a chance to fix that. But I never thought I'd see you, let alone meet you." Julia stood there perplexed. Was this man just trying to lure her into some kind of a trap? How could he be on her side without knowing her story?

"Let me introduce myself," he said sticking his hand out to her. "I am Cyrus Machion, Roy and Emmett's father and the Head of the New York Institute."


	13. Institute

Julia had no idea why she was sitting here. She should be gone, running far away and throwing herself into hiding. But here she was, sitting in a chair in the kitchen at the New York Institute with four curious Shadowhunters sitting across from her. Somehow Cyrus Machion had convinced her to return to the Institute with him. There was something about him that made her trust him right from the beginning. Well, she was convinced by his steady reasoning and Roy's reassurances. They managed to assure her that they were on her side, even though they didn't know her story. Roy and Emmett told her about how their parents had realized that the stories the Clave were sending out were not adding up. So here she was, sitting in the Institute, probably the most unsafe spot for her right now, knowing they could turn on her at any moment. She really did not want to trust anyone, but what choice did she have at this point?

Every time one of them moved, she flinched in fear. Slowly, she recounted her parent's story again, and then told them what happened. Unlike Roy, his parents made the connection about Jake being the Consul's father and they questioned her about it for a while. She felt her face flush and eventually admitted that they dated. After that she refused to look at Roy. She did not know what she was feeling for him, and every time she thought about him she got a little spark, immediately followed by guilt as her mind turned to Jake. Luckily, the questioning soon turned into other matters, and she was able to focus on something else. They accepted her story with a bit of shock, but overall seemed to believe her without question.

After she told them her story, they told her everything they knew about what had happened in the Shadowhunter world for the past couple of months, including what they believed was false, and what they had learned through close friends that the Clave was trying to keep hidden. Not much of it pertained to her. Mostly it was information about missing Shadowhunters, most of whom she believed were probably either working with Sebastian or against him. They also assured her that they had heard nothing about Magnus or Simon.

"Julia," Mrs. Machion said, "this is a lot for you to handle at your age. I really hope you believe us when we say that we are with you. We want to help you." Mrs. Machion had green eyes and dark brown hair. The boys had clearly inherited their looks from their father. Her steady green eyes looked at Julia with motherly concern.

"Thank you, Mrs. Machion," Julia said quietly.

"Please, call me Stella," she said. Julia looked up at them all, their faces kind and trusting. She knew her dad would be mad at her, telling her she was crazy for trusting anyone, but she really did not want to do this alone anymore.

"Thanks," she said, this time almost a whisper.

"Julia, why don't you go and take a rest. Emmett can show you to one of the rooms. You've had a lot to take in, and I'm sure you have a lot to think about. I can assure you that we won't turn you in to the Clave."

"I don't know…" Julia trailed off. She really was exhausted. She had to decide whether she was going to trust them. She had to decide now. If she accepted what they were saying, and trusted they would not turn her in, there was no going back.

"With your situation, there is nothing we could say that would change your mind about us," Cyrus Machion said, "but we hope that you do. Several of our friends were taken as well, and if Jonathan really is back, we want to bring him down. For good."

Julia didn't mention that by saying 'for good,' he was sentencing her father do death. If they killed Jonathan, her father would die as well. But she knew what he meant. She could tell just by his expression that he was not thinking of what she had told them when he said it. He said it because he wants to bring down Jonathan, just like she does.

"I guess a nap would do me some good," she relented, deciding to trust them. She got up slowly, and Emmett immediately rushed toward her.

"I'll show you to your room," he said. She nodded slowly.

"Thanks again," she said to Cyrus and Stella. They both nodded enthusiastically, assuring her that she could come to them if she needed anything. Julia finally looked at Roy. His expression was unreadable but he seemed slightly tense. She felt guilty without really knowing why.

* * *

><p>The next day, Emmett accompanied Julia to the room she had been staying in to help her retrieve the last of her possessions. They hopped a train to get there, and for a long time Julia stared out the window, looking at the passing scenery of New York City. Part of her regretted that she had not done much sight-seeing. One of the reasons she had come here was because she wanted to see it; to explore and experience the city that her parents had known so well. She had instead spent all of her time in underground meetings and sketchy Downworlder hideouts. She tried so hard to find her parents that she didn't take any time for herself. The nap she had taken yesterday turned quickly into sleep and she had not woken up for almost fifteen hours. It had left her refreshed and slightly happy. As she stared at the scenes rushing beside her, she vowed she would take a day to herself and explore the city.<p>

"My brother likes you," Emmett said suddenly, snapping her out of her thought process.

"What?" she asked. She had heard him clearly, but asked the question because she was not quite sure what else to say.

"My brother likes you," Emmett repeated.

"I…um…oh," Julia responded. She had no idea what to say. She had not had time to sort through her thoughts yet, let alone figure out how she felt about Roy.

"I just thought I'd let you know," Emmett said.

"I don't think I'm ready for anything," she responded. She had not really talked to Emmett yet, other than the short walk to her room the day before, but she already felt comfortable with. She was beginning to wonder if it was a family trait that they were just trustworthy people.

"Do you like him?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know," she said. "I do," she admitted, "but just, in the middle of all this, I don't want to get involved in anything. It's just so much."

"I get it," he said sympathetically. "I just wanted to let you know."

"Thanks," Julia responded. "I just don't think it's a good time for me to get into any kind of a relationship."

"My brother's a good guy. He won't hurt you," Emmett said.

"I'm not worried about _him_ hurting _me_," she responded softly.

He nodded, not pressing the issue anymore.

They spent the rest of the train ride and the walk to the building in idle chatter. Emmett was easy to talk to. He described to her some of his favorite places in the city and told her a couple of funny stories involving people she didn't know.

* * *

><p>She had been staying in a small building used for storage. A simple minded warlock named Johan had taken pity on her and let her stay in the tiny room for free. As they approached the building Emmett ceased his chatter and pulled out a sensor. "Just in case," he said. The sensor showed that there were no demonic levels at all, so they proceeded inside without worry.<p>

"This is where you were sleeping?" he asked, staring in shock at the tiny room.

"It's better than being homeless," she replied. "It was cozy," she added staring at it fondly. It was nothing much at all, but it had been better than the first several nights she had spent in the city sleeping on a park bench or under a bridge. She grabbed her bag and opened the drawers of the dresser. Emmett raised his eyebrows at the number of weapons. "It's all I've got," she said in defense. After throwing the weapons in on top of her few clothes, she dumped the books on top and zipped up the bag throwing a strap over her shoulder. Lastly she grabbed the picture of her and her parents from under her pillow and slipped it into a pocket. "I think that's it," she said.

"You think?" Emmett asked, "I don't know where you would keep anything else." Julia laughed but stopped suddenly when she heard a noise from down the hall. She zipped open her bag quickly and grabbed a knife.

"It was probably just the pipes," Emmett said reasonably when they heard nothing else for a minute. "Let's just go." Julia nodded and Emmett stepped out into the hallway.

Julia had just stepped out behind him and was closing the door to the room when they both heard a noise coming from around the corner.

Julia stepped next to Emmett gripping the knife tightly but keeping it slightly behind her in case the noise they heard was just a maintenance person or someone. She didn't want to scare anyone. A person appeared around the corner. It was Johan. His dark black hair was falling into his eyes as he looked up and saw them.

"Julia," he said, not with shock at seeing her, but almost as if pleading with her.

"Johan," she responded stepping toward him. "I'm sorry," she said," I appreciate you letting me stay here but I'm leaving. Thank you for everything you've done. I can't thank you enough."

Johan waved his hand at her. Something was wrong. She stopped halfway down the hall, afraid to go any further. "Julia," Johan said again, "I'm sorry." With those last words he fell to the ground and she saw a knife protruding from his back.

"What?" she started to say and then two men came around the corner. Emmett was next to her. She glanced at him quickly and noticed he was holding a bolas in his hand. She wondered at this, briefly in the back of her mind. It wasn't a weapon she would have thought he would use, let alone pull out for a fight. A bolas was a throwing weapon. On the end of long thin cords were weights. It was usually used to wrap around people or animals or demons legs in order to make them fall. Many Shadowhunters used it in conjunction with their choice weapons, but very, very few used it as a weapon of choice.

The two men came closer, both with malicious grins on their faces. They were both beefy, buff males who looked to be in their 30's. Julia noticed with dismay that they were Shadowhunters.

"What do you want?" she asked, warily taking a step back. She was about to take another step back when she remembered that the hallway was a dead end. She quickly assessed the situation, debating going back to her room, breaking the window and leaping out. They were on the third floor, and she knew she could make the jump. She quickly dismissed the thought because she knew Emmett would never be able to make it. She tried to remember the side of the building and whether there was anything he could hold on to, but nothing came to mind. She could not remember any pipes or anything on the walls. It was looking like their only option was to fight. Emmett seemed prepared for this. His eyes were lit up with glee and he had a half smile on his face in anticipation of the fight that was about to break out.

She turned back to face the men, her whole body tensing slightly in anticipation. The men continued to grin their evil, confident grins as they came closer.

"Now now, Julia," one of them said. "We don't want a fight. Just come with us peacefully."

"Tell Sebastian to leave me alone," she said. "It's already proven lot more trouble than it's worth to get me."

"We don't know a Sebastian," the one said.

"Jonathan then," she spat out.

"You have no idea what you're worth to Jonathan," the other man said.

Julia didn't respond. The men were in front of her now. She was just waiting for the attack. Each man was holding a long sword in their right hands. Julia held her knife in front of her, dropping her duffle bag to the ground. After a moment of glaring, one of the men finally lunged at her. Emmett drew back in order to better use the bolas. While the man on the left lunged at Julia, Emmett placed a blow to the man on the right. His next throw wrapped the bolas around the man's long sword, making it difficult for him to use it. Julia smiled grimly, thanking the Angel that Emmett was a good fighter. She turned her attention to the man in front of her. She had his sword blocked with her knife and reached out with her left arm to jab him in the ribs. He blocked her shot. She drew back, sliding her knife along the edge of the sword so he couldn't cut her with it. Their weapons came apart with a metallic clang. She knew she needed to make this a quick fight. If she let it draw it out, he would be able to use the length of the sword to his advantage. She waited until he made the first move again, using her knife to block his sword she moved underneath his arm with incredible speed, drawing her knife back with her. Before he could react to what was happening, she stabbed him in the back, driving the blade right through his heart. His entire body went rigid and then he fell forward, the knife sticking out of his back.

Julia pulled the knife out, and turned to face Emmett and his attacker. Emmett had one weight wrapped around the man's neck and another around his stomach, but he was having difficulty pulling them tight because the man had his arms in a tight grip. The man did not appear to notice anything else around him so she slipped up behind him, slicing at his arm. He yelped in pain and loosened his grip on Emmett who twisted around, finally able to pull tight on the cord wrapped around the man's neck. The man clawed at the cord, trying to break it. Julia, already caught up in the fight, drove her knife into the man's stomach. Blood immediately began to pour from the wound and she pulled out the knife, driving it back in, another inch above the other wound. The man dropped to the floor. Emmett released his grip on him. Julia stared down at the lifeless body. Emmett untangled his bolas and pulled out Julia's knife, handing it out to her. She took it numbly, still staring down at the body.

* * *

><p>Julia was in complete shock. She sat on the train, just staring straight in front of her. Her and Emmett were somehow alone in their compartment on the train.<p>

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I killed two men," she whispered. She felt him put a comforting hand on her back.

"You've killed before," he said.

"I've killed countless demons," she responded. "But never a person.

"They would've killed us," he said.

She leaned back against the seat and he put his arm around her. He did not do it to try and hit on her or make a move. He was just being a comforting friend. She leaned her head on his shoulder and just relaxed for the rest of the ride.

* * *

><p>Julia was curled up in a ball, light streaming through the giant window to the side. She had a book in her hand and didn't even seem to notice he had entered the room. The sunlight was reflecting off her golden hair, creating almost a halo effect around her head. She looked like an angel. He suddenly realized that she was looking at him. He opened his mouth but no words came out.<p>

"Hi Roy," she said.

"Hey," he responded.

"What're you reading?" he asked.

She held up the book. "Pride and Prejudice," she said.

He looked at the book. It didn't look like it said Pride and Prejudice on it. It said; Orgueil et prejudges. "That's not English," he said.

"French," she responded.

"You speak French?" he asked. She nodded, putting a bookmark in the book and setting it aside.

"Yeah," she responded. Instead of looking up at him, she looked down at her hands which she had clasped together.

"I heard you guys had a tough fight when you went to get your stuff," Roy said.

"Yeah," Julia said.

"Emmett said you were having a tough time um, dealing with it," he said.

"I'll get over it," she responded.

"It's not just gonna go away," he said.

"I did what I had to," she said bitterly.

"That doesn't make it easier," he added.

She just nodded.

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," he said, just deciding to get it out and say it.

She looked up at him. "I didn't realize I had to tell you my entire life story," she said, her voice sounding angry.

"You, you don't…" he hesitated. "I just, thought we had something between us. I thought maybe, maybe you would've said something."

She looked at him, her gaze softening. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I just, I don't know. There's just so much happening," she admitted.

Roy was very uncertain. He had never seen Julia as vulnerable as she was at that moment. He didn't want to say something wrong.

"Do you wanna sit?" she asked, scooting to the side of the couch.

He sat down next to her, aware that there were only a few inches between them.

"I didn't mean to be insensitive," he said slowly.

"I should have told you," she responded. "I felt something with you from the beginning, but we…well Jake and I never actually broke up and I dunno… I don't know what to do."

"What happened?" Roy asked.

"He wouldn't come with me when I left. He stayed behind."

"Sounds over to me," Roy said. Julia looked so beautiful to him. Her face was right in front of his, only inches away. Her face moved an inch closer to his.

"You're a good guy Roy," she said.

He leaned in closer and kissed her, softly at first and then a little harder when she didn't pull away. He let his hand wrap around her neck, pulling her closer to him. The kiss was soft and sweet and everything he imagined it would be. After several minutes she pulled away.

"We need to take this slowly," she said.

"Of course," he responded.

They made out for a while more and then she said she was going to take a nap. Roy went back to his room, his heart beating rapidly. He felt light and airy as if all of his dreams had come true. Being with Julia would be difficult. She had a rough life, and he was about to get in the middle of it. But he was happier than he had been in a long time. He decided to take a nap too, drifting off with an image of Julia imprinted in his mind.


	14. Date

**A/N Hey guys! Sorry in advance that this chapter is so short! But I think you'll like it, especially at the end :-) Thanks so much for the reviews and to those of you who've added me to your favorites/alerts! It makes me so happy! Enjoy :-)**

Roy had not been this happy in a long time. Every day he got to see Julia. He got to hold her hand, and kiss her whenever he wanted. He got to see her smile and hear her laugh. Roy could not imagine being any happier.

They were pretty busy every day. She spent a lot of time with his parents behind closed doors, discussing things that they did not want to tell him. Despite the fact that he was the one who found Julia, and he was the one who decided to get involved, they had decided that he and Emmett should know as little as possible. That way if something happened they could claim ignorance.

Roy was not happy about that. He wanted to be involved. He wanted to help, and to fight. When they were together, she assured him that when the time came, she would tell him everything they had learned, but for now it was better for him not to know. He took it with as much grace as he could, often ranting to Emmett about it while they were training. He saw her even less because of training. She outright refused to let anyone train with her. Every time someone would protest, she would adamantly put her foot down. They finally gave in. He asked Julia why no one was allowed to train with her.

"I've always preferred to train privately. A lot of times I wouldn't even let my father be there."

"How could you tell what you were doing wrong then? Without anyone to tell you what's wrong, how could you improve?" he had asked.

She had looked at him with an intense gaze and said very seriously, "I could just feel it."

"Didn't you have to train with others at the school?" he asked.

"Most of the time I was helping other students. I never really saw it as training," she said. Roy shook his head, thinking her ridiculous, but agreed to let her train by herself. After two weeks of only seeing her half of the time she was there, he told her to keep Saturday open.

"What's Saturday?" she asked curiously.

"We're spending the day together," he said. "I'm taking you on a date."

"Where to?" she asked, her eyes bright and shining.

"It's a surprise," he responded.

She smiled at him. "Ok, I guess I'll just have to trust you this one time," she said sarcastically.

The rest of the week he spent waiting for Saturday. It was one of those times when you really wanted time to speed up, but it slowed down. The days dragged out, each hour seeming to take days and each day seeming take weeks.

Finally, the day arrived. He met her at breakfast. "What're you two doing today?" Stella asked Julia.

"I don't know," Julia replied smiling. "Roy won't tell me." She shot him a glance.

"I'm sure it's something good then," she responded.

"It is," Roy said.

Emmett walked in at that moment, with no shirt on, running his fingers through his hair.

"And where were you last night mister?" Stella asked her oldest son.

"Out," he replied with a yawn.

"You must have gotten in pretty late," she said.

"I just got in," he replied.

She pursed her lips with disdain. Julia looked at Roy, biting her bottom lip. The density in the air seemed to shift and she felt a fight coming.

"Thank you for breakfast Stella," she said getting up. "It was delicious as always."

"You're welcome honey," Stella said, still looking at Emmett.

"Yeah, we should get going," Roy said, also getting up.

"Have fun," Cyrus said, looking back and forth between his son and his wife nervously. Although aware that he was about to get a lecture, Emmett looked as calm and collected as always. He grabbed a piece of toast, leaning back in his chair.

Roy gave him a quick look before grabbing Julia's hand and leading her out of the room.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked Roy, as shouts erupted from the kitchen behind them.

"Nope," he responded, hurrying his pace.

They reached the elevator within a few minutes and stepped inside.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"About what?" she asked.

"The fighting."

"All families fight Roy, don't be ashamed of it." Julia squeezed his hand.

"Sometimes I think he just does it to piss my mom off," he said.

"Or, he likes to go out," she reasoned.

"Or he's horny all the time," Roy responded. Julia laughed. Roy looked at her, realizing what he had just said. He started laughing too. "I'm sorry," he said. "Let's just not talk about it."

"Sure," she said.

First he took her to lunch at a little Italian Bistro with a name neither of them could pronounce.

"You know, at first I thought you liked Emmett," Roy admitted.

"Why?" Julia asked, shocked.

"You winked at him."

"When?" she asked.

"The first time we talked. I thought you were attracted to him just like every other girl."

"And you were jealous?" she laughed.

"Well yeah, kinda," he responded defensively.

"It was just to let him know I knew he was there with you. I wasn't flirting with him!" Julia replied, laughing.

"Oh. Well how was I supposed to know?" he asked.

"You weren't, I guess." They spent almost the entire rest of the lunch laughing.

After lunch he took her to Times Square. She marveled at the glory of it; the big screens everywhere, the people rushing in every direction. "This is incredible," she said loudly, over the hundreds of other people. A man on his phone cut right between them, ripping their hands out of each other's. Julia just laughed and looked over to Roy.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked.

"This is so different," she said. "It's so…normal."

Roy looked at Julia like she had three heads. "Are you nuts?" he asked, grabbing her hand again.

"Look around you Roy," she said. "Look at all these people, going through life with their technology and their happiness and their fears, when there is a whole other world that they can't see and don't know about. They don't have to worry about demons and dangerous archenemies. They're so normal."

"Everyone has their enemies. Theirs are just different types of enemies. Besides, normal is overrated," he responded, laughing with her. "Come on," he said, tugging her back through the mob of people. "There's plenty more sights to see." He took her to the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. They got hotdogs at a corner stand for dinner.

"I'm having the best day ever," Julia said between bites. "I promised myself I would see the city soon and you're showing it to me. I couldn't ask for anything better." She leaned over and kissed him quickly. When she pulled back he started laughing.

"You have mustard on your face," he said, handing her a napkin.

She took the napkin and wiped it off, laughing along with him. "I just thought you should see the city," he said. He finished eating his hotdog. "Are you done?" he asked. "We have one more place to go." Roy took Julia to a park by the waterfront. In the middle of the park was a perfect view of the Statue of Liberty, standing in all her glory. The sun was just beginning to set and the light was shining behind the statue, making every feature turn dark.

"I had a wonderful day," she said to Roy, wrapping her arms around his waist and kissing him.

"Does this mean I can call you my girlfriend?" he asked.

"Definitely," she responded, kissing him again. They kissed until the sun went down, leaving them in darkness.

"We should probably get going," he finally said, sighing against her.

"Yeah," she responded, putting her head against his chest and breathing in. He took her hand in his and they began to walk toward the exit.

* * *

><p>They were just beginning to exit the park when Julia heard it. The sluggish slimy sound of a demon, shuffling behind her. She listened more intently, blocking out what Roy was saying to her. It was more than one. In fact it sounded like dozens. She could hear clickers and suctions, teeth chomping and claws scraping. She turned rapidly, pulling out a seraph blade and a dagger before Roy even registered anything was wrong. "Eremiel," Julia whispered and the blade lit up the night. Roy's eyes adjusted quickly, and he saw beyond it fast approaching demons. More demons than he had ever seen at one time. Julia stood with her shoulders back, her face fierce, ready to fight the opponents that were almost upon them. Roy just had enough time to pull out a long knife before they were fallen upon. Roy had never seen Julia train. He could not imagine how good he was. She looked like a glorious angel, releasing the fury of heaven upon its enemies. He almost wanted to just stand there and watch her, but knew it would result in his death. She dispatched seven demons in the time it took him to battle one. She was like a streak of golden light, whipping around each demon before they could get any kind of a hold on her. After several minutes though, he was beginning to think the fight was lost. They were almost fully surrounded by the demons. There were far more than he originally thought.<p>

Suddenly, a second shining light cut through the demons. He saw short brown hair, before twirling to slice off the hand of a demon that was reaching for him. With a second quick blow, he sliced right into its middle before turning to face another foe. He did not know who this stranger was, but he was helping the fight considerably. Roy was separated from Julia by 5 or 6 demons, but on the other side of them he could see the stranger reach her. The two began to fight together, predicting each other's moves almost as if they had fought together before. He had a demon on the blade of his knife, using it is a shield as he watched Julia and the stranger, who he now saw was a boy around their age, facing each other, ram their weapons underneath each other's arms to dispatch demons behind both of them. The two stood staring at each other, their bodies less than an inch away. Roy felt a sudden pang of jealousy. That was a move you only did with someone you were very close with. Someone that you knew so well, you would give your life for them. And the look the two had just given each other almost made him shudder. It was so intimate looking he felt as if he had walked in on something scandalous. Just as the two pulled their weapons out of the demons, and broke apart, spinning away to face more demons, he threw the one on his blade off to the side and began to fight ferociously.

They were near the edge of the walking bridge now. Straight down off the edge was a grassy area. Next to it was a path for walkers and runners to take as they exercised along the Hudson River. There was no one around right now of course. It was the middle of the night. Roy, Julia, and the stranger were only a few hundred feet from the edge when Roy looked around and saw that there were no demons left. Immediately afterwards, he realized he was mistaken. Julia and the stranger stood facing the edge of the bridge. He joined them, standing on the other side of Julia. He took her hand and she gave it a little squeeze back. A demon was edging onto the railing. He saw that it was a Jikininki demon and was surprised it was backing off. They loved to feed off humans, and generally fought to the death. It was now standing on all four of its legs, ready to jump back over the ledge. He knew it would live from the jump. Jikininki demons were like oversized and extra powerful cats. The demon would survive the fall and then scuttle away without pausing for a moment.

It opened its mouth, or at least what he believed to be its mouth, and gave what he assumed to be a grin. Then it spoke in a rough voice, almost impossible to understand but they all heard it. "Heee waaants you Julia. He wants youuuuuuuu to have his chiiildren. You cannot defeeeeeeat him. Eveeen you parents cooould not resiiiiiiist." Julia tensed, but with that, the demon launched itself off the edge.

Suddenly the boy on the far side of Julia spoke. "It'll probably break both your legs you know," he said.

Julia let out a short, humorless laugh. "I doubt it," she responded and then, before Roy realized what was happening, she took off for the edge at a run. By the time Roy realized what was going on, she was launching herself over the edge after the demon. He ran to the edge, shouting her name and got there in time to see her drive her knife into the demons stomach. She did not appear harmed at all. The other boy approached but more slowly, and they saw her arguing with the demon, before finally getting sick of it and killing it, sending it back to whatever dimension it came from.

As the demon vanished, Julia looked up at them. She glanced first at Roy and then her eyes trailed to the boy standing next to him. Roy looked at him too. His eyes were met by curious brown ones, glinting a pale, reflective gold off the streetlight.

"Thank you for helping us," Roy said lightly. "I'm Roy." He put his hand out. The other boy took it, and shook it firmly.

"I'm Jake," he said. "Jake Fireblade."


	15. Fight

Roy stood with his arms crossed, trying very hard not to be angry, but he knew that every time he spoke it came out sounding irritated. "What're you doing here?" was his first question. The second they had rejoined with Julia, Roy wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She had tensed as he did it, looking guilty, but didn't pull away.

"I came to find Julia," Jake had responded, barely taking his gaze off of her to look at Roy.

"How did you find me?" she asked.

"There was a bit of your hair on my one jacket. I used a tracing rune. It took me forever to figure out what city you were in because I had never seen any of them. It was actually James who figured out you were in New York."

"How did you find us here?" Roy asked.

"Pure accident," Jake responded. "The apartment I'm at is just a few blocks away. I was coming here to take a walk when I saw the demons."

"Jake," Julia said softly. "What're you doing here?"

Jake looked at her, his expression so soft and tender that Roy almost took his arm off her. No, he thought to himself. She was his now. This jerk had hurt her and he was not going to feel any pity for him.

"The minute you left, I felt more guilty than I ever had in my life. I should have never let you leave without me. You were right. I found my dad a while later. He was surrounded by demon guards. He gestured for me to come with him. I was so wrong Julia. He's working with Jonathan, and I could tell in that moment that he never had any intention of turning against him. I found James and Annie and several others and we left."

"How are we supposed to know you're not working with your father?" Roy asked his voice full of distaste.

"I'm not. Trust me I'm not. Julia, you know I would never work with him. I would never work for Jonathan. I'd kill myself first." His voice was frantic and his eyes were pleading.

"I know," she said quietly. He sighed with relief.

"I think we should take him to the Institute. Let my parents talk with him," Roy said.

Julia hesitated. There were so many things she wanted to say. So many questions she wanted to ask. Once again, doing the right thing weighed over in her mind and she reluctantly nodded.

* * *

><p>They got a cab to the Institute. None of them felt inclined to walk that distance with the fragile silence between them. The cab ride was silent, and fortunately short. Roy kept a wary eye on Jake, while both Jake and Julia looked everywhere but at each other.<p>

They arrived at the Institute and rushed inside. Almost as soon as they were inside they ran into Emmett, who was throwing on a jacket, looking like he was about to leave. "Who's this?" he asked curiously, nodding in Jake's direction.

"You're not going out," Roy responded instead of answering. Emmett looked at him with shock. "Go find mom and dad and meet us in the kitchen," Roy said and then pushed past his brother, dragging Julia with him. He didn't even look back to see if Jake was following, he just assumed he would. Emmett gave Julia a confused look, but she just shook her head at him. After a quick glance and Jake, he hurried off in the other direction to find his parents.

Julia, Roy and Jake entered the kitchen. "Sit," Roy directed, pointing at a chair. Jake sat without question. Julia tentatively sat across from Jake, and Roy slammed himself into the seat next to Julia. The three of them sat in silence. Roy in anger, Julia, almost scared, and Jake in annoyance. After what seemed like forever, the door opened. Emmett walked in followed by his parents. They were both dressed in their bed things and looked as if they had just been woken up.

"Sorry it took so long," Emmett said lightly, trying to ease the tension, "early birds had already gone to bed." He let out one short ha before giving up and leaning back against the wall, his arms folded.

"Roy, honey," Stella said, "Who is this?"

"Mom, dad, Emmett," Roy said, "This is Jake Fireblade." His voice sounded like venom when he said Jakes name. His voice was thick as if he had to spit the name out against his will.

"Jake Fireblade?" Cyrus asked, staring at Jake. It wasn't so much of a question as a statement. "And how did he get here?"

"We were attacked in the park and Jake happened to be there and came to help out. He came looking for Julia and he wants to help, but we don't know if he's telling the truth or not," Roy said in a rush.

"Well I guess we'll just have to talk to him then won't we?" Cyrus said.

Julia had her hands clenched together on the table and was staring down at them. "Roy, Julia, perhaps you two should leave," Stella said.

"No way," Roy said.

"Roy. Listen to your mother," Cyrus said.

"Why does Emmett get to stay?" he asked, angrily.

"Firstly, because he is not controlled by anger right now like you are. Secondly, because he is of age and can attend meetings like this. Now please leave," his mother replied curtly. "We will let you know our decision as soon as we're done her."

Roy rose quickly, his chair falling to the ground behind him. "Come on Julia," he said sticking his hand out.

Julia hesitated. She felt like she should say something. Anything. But just as it had been when she had the silencing rune, she couldn't get any words to come out of her mouth. She took his hand, glancing one last time at Jake. His face was expressionless, impossible to read. She tried to convey in that one look how sorry she was and that she believed he was on her side, but despite the fact that he was looking at her, she did not feel as if he really saw her. She took Roy's outstretched hand and fled the room quickly.

* * *

><p>They went back to Roy's room and lay on his bed. Julia rested her head on his chest and for a long time neither spoke. "This doesn't change anything Roy," Julia said, finally breaking the silence.<p>

"Of course it does," he responded.

"No, it doesn't."

"Julia, your ex-boyfriend just came back into your life. Of course things have changed," his voice was still angry but it wasn't directed at her.

"Roy, I'm_ your_ girlfriend now. He made his decision and I made mine," she said, looking up at him. Roy began to stroke her hair and did not respond.

Eventually Julia fell asleep. She woke up to find Roy breathing softly underneath her. They both had fallen asleep, and she had no idea what time it was. It must be the middle of the night. She slowly tried to climb out of the bed without waking him. She was just about to open the door when she heard his sleepy voice say, "where're you going?"

"I'm going back to my room," she replied.

"Stay," he said quietly.

"With all that's going on, I don't know if it would be good if your parents found us sleeping in the same bed," she responded. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Love you," his tired voice said.

She hesitated before saying, "I love you too," quietly before slipping out the door.

Julia went down the first hallway and then down another. She could tell by the shadows that it was sometime in the middle of the night. As she rounded the next corner, she saw someone walking down the hallway in her direction.

She could not stop the jump in her heart when she saw it was Jake. Her heart began to beat rapidly and she felt an urge to run up to him and kiss him. The urge was immediately followed by a painful reminder that he had chosen his lying manipulative father over both reason and her. The sight of him set off such a mixture of emotions in her that she had a problem thinking straight.

"Jake," Julia said softly, his name coming easy to her lips.

"Julia," he replied curtly, his eyes looking off to the side of her.

"How are you?" she asked.

"Fine," he responded bitterly.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked.

He finally turned his eyes onto hers and she almost wished he hadn't. They were cold and unforgiving. She never wanted to see a look like that on him. "Of course I am," he spoke roughly, almost as if it was hard for him to say.

"Jake," she said, her voice cracking. "Don't be mad at me."

If possible his eyes became colder. "And why not?" he asked, his voice rising slightly. "I just spent a month searching for my girlfriend, only to find her with someone else. Tell me Julia, how am I supposed to feel?"

"You let me go Jake!" Julia had forced herself not to think of Jake over the last several weeks. But now that she was forced to, she realized how mad she was at him. "You let me leave. You wouldn't come with me. How do you think that felt?"

"That's not the point Julia, we never broke up. How can you be dating him?" Jake asked, angrily.

"I think the breakup was implied," she responded. "I didn't think I was ever going to see you again! Did you really expect me to sit around and wait for you to just show up one day?"

"I didn't think we were over. The second you were gone I realized my mistake and I've spent the whole time you were gone trying to find you. I felt so wrong. I cared more for you than for the safety of my own parabati." He took a step closer, his voice softening slightly. She could now see behind the coldness in his eyes the whirlwind of emotion; the sorrow, the anger, and the hurt.

"Where is James?" she asked.

"At an apartment several blocks away," he responded. He was right in front of her now. "Damn it Julia, I love you. I don't want to stick around and see you be with some other guy. What do you want?"

"What do I want?" she whispered. "I want my parents back. I want to forget this all happened and go back to my manor house and curl up in a ball in the library. I want a demon to be my worst enemy."

"I was referring to the current situation," he replied.

"I…It doesn't matter what I want Jake. It doesn't matter that all I want right now is to kiss you, tell you that I want you, remind you that I love you and I always will. Every fiber of my being is telling me to fall into your arms right now. But I can't Jake. My heart broke the second you said you wouldn't come with me. I cried every single night for a month before I finally pushed every thought of you out of my mind. I was broken. And then Roy found me. And I resisted at first. But he was there for me. So I'm sorry, and I really hope you'll stay and help us fight Sebastian, but," she paused and took a deep breath in. She knew it was the right thing, but it was still really hard to do, "we're over. Officially. I'm with Roy now."

Jake nodded slowly, his face grim. "If that's your decision, I think it's better if I go," he said slowly.

His words sliced right through her. She didn't want him to leave. "Don't," she said, reaching a hand out to him.

"I can't be around you," he said. He spun on his heels and headed back down the hallway.

"Jake," her voice cracked. The tears finally came and were streaming down her cheeks. She knew she had just done the right thing, but why did it hurt so badly? She leaned up against the wall, sliding down it into a sitting position. She wrapped her arms around her legs and just let the tears flow. She was still there an hour later, her body now spread out a bit, one leg stretched in front of her hands resting lightly on the other leg, which was still bent up close to her body. The tears had ceased to flow and she was staring blankly at the wall in front of her, focusing on her breathing so she wouldn't have to think about anything. She was still sitting like that when Emmett stumbled upon her a little while later.

"Julia?" he asked, approaching her, "What're you doing?" As he got closer he noticed the tear stains down her cheeks and he squatted down next to her. She looked at him, her golden eyes watery and filled with sadness.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Did you and Roy get into a fight?" he asked. She shook her head again. He hesitated a moment and then asked, "Jake?"

The tears began to flow again and he felt bad for her. Of course Roy was his brother, and he wanted his brother to be happy, but it was obvious that she was still in love with Jake. "Come on," he said, "let's get you out of this hallway." He stood up and stretched out his hand to help her up. She grabbed it and he pulled her up. For some reason her legs did not seem to want to work and she fell back down to the ground, her hand still holding on to Emmett's. He looked at her, the sorrow apparent in his eyes. He immediately scooped down, and released her hand, picking her up in his strong arms.

"You don't have to carry me," she said, almost laughing.

"From the looks of things, I do," he replied. She just sighed and leaned into his chest, letting him carry her the rest of the way. He managed to open the door, and set her gently on her bed. He looked around at the room. "You know, you should paint the walls or something. Something to make this room more youish."

"I like white," she responded.

"Julia, everything's going to be okay," he said. She nodded her head.

"You're a good friend Emmett," she said.

"I know," he responded. He made to leave and then, pausing for a second said, "Julia, Roy is my brother, and protecting him will always come first. And I know it's not my place, but you need to follow your heart."

Julia looked up at him, her expression thoughtful. "What do you do when your head is screaming at you telling you that your heart is wrong? I can't ignore reason Emmett."

"But you can't ignore how your heart feels either," he responded. With that, Emmett left the room, shutting her door with a bang behind her.

* * *

><p>Julia lay on her bed where Emmett had set her staring up at the ceiling. She had just heard relationship advice from a guy who probably had slept with every girl in the city. When had she become such a wuss? She couldn't even stand earlier! Emmett had to carry her. When did she become the girl who was afraid of anything? At least, on the outside. When did she become the girl who cried over boys? No, she made her decision. Roy was there for her when she needed him most and Jake wasn't. He had made his decision. She felt bad that he hadn't thought the relationship was over, but what else was she supposed to think? She honestly had never thought she was going to see him again. She sat up, rubbing the tears from her eyes. This was it, she was with Roy now, and if Jake couldn't handle it then that was his problem.<p>

* * *

><p>Jake could not believe this. She was already with someone else! Why didn't he just go with her in the first place? He kicked at a nearby rock on the ground, sending it skittering across the street. What the hell? he thought. He had spent all this time looking for her, and she was with someone else. Did it not matter that they loved each other? He hurried back to the apartment. James was there waiting. James would know what to do. He would be able to help Jake sort out his emotions.<p>

* * *

><p>"Jake," James said quietly, as if afraid Jake would lash out at him, "I told you from the beginning that it sounded like a breakup to me. I'm sorry buddy, but it's not like she was cheating on you."<p>

Jake looked up at his friend. He had returned nearly an hour ago and told James, Annie, Macy, Amelia, Troy, and several others who had come with him what had happened. They had looked at him with sorrow, but none of them had been on his side, so he lashed out, yelling at them that they were wrong, and irritated that they would not agree with him.

Now, an hour later, he had no intention of lashing out. He felt defeated. "I know," was his only response.

"But why is she at the Institute?" Troy asked. "She's supposed to be in hiding, so why is she with Shadowhunters?" His voice was full of suspicion.

"The Machion's said Roy and Emmett found her, and began to follow her. They said they're against the Clave. They've realized something was up for a while now, and they managed to convince Julia of that. She's only been there for a week."

"So what're we going to do?" Annie asked. "We're just a bunch of kids stuck in the middle of a city, with no clue what we're doing. Do we trust them or not?"

Everyone looked at Jake as if he held the answer. "If Julia trusts them then I do," he said and got up from his chair, pushing past everyone. He heard Troy say quietly as he receded into the bedroom, "but do we trust Julia?" Jake's hands balled into fists and he debated going back but decided this was not the fight to pick. Instead he slammed the bedroom door shut, although he did not lock it since he was sharing a room with James. It took him a while to fall asleep, but when he did it was filled with dreams of Julia.


	16. Decisions

Jake woke up feeling angry. It confused him for a minute before he remembered the previous night. "Augh," he said out loud, rolling over onto his side.

"Augh what?" a voice next to him asked sleepily. He smacked James with his pillow.

"I can't believe she has a boyfriend," he said.

"Can we talk about it when it's not the middle of the night?" James asked.

"James, it's 10 o'clock," Jake responded.

"Since when do you get up before I do?" James questioned.

"Since I lost the love of my life and have problems sleeping. Now get up and talk to me," he said.

"By the Angel you're pushy this morning," James responded rolling onto his stomach.

"James," Jake said, all the jokes and laughter leaving his voice, "What am I going to do?"

"What you've always done," James responded.

"Which is?" Jake asked.

"Live your life Jake. If you really still love her, then I'm sure you'll find a way to win her back," James replied.

"It's not like she's just mad at me or something," he said," she has a boyfriend. She told me that she still loves me and always will, but she won't break up with him for me."

"Jake," James said, pushing off his stomach and sitting up, "everything always works out in the end. Remember?"

"You just don't get how I feel about her. She's everything to me. The instant I met her, I thought she was being rude. I thought she thought she was better than the rest of us and too good to talk to me. Of course it was because she could not speak, but I didn't know that at the time. But even though I thought she was the most stuck up person I had ever met I was drawn to her like a moth to flame. All I wanted was to hear her say one word to me. I just wanted to her to think I was important enough to talk to."

"It's usually like that when you meet someone new," James said, "Especially someone you think you need to impress. You want them to like you even though you don't know them."

"It wasn't like that though. I didn't care what she thought of me, I just wanted her to talk to me. Did you know that in the entire time we were dating we never fought? About anything. Not until the day she left. We're perfect for each other and she's just throwing that away," he finished bitterly.

"And you just want her to break up with this guy, who's been supporting her for who knows how long, just to be with you? You don't know how she feels about him, and you don't know what happened between them. Isn't that kind of selfish of you?" James asked.

"Whose side are you on?" Jake questioned.

"Jake, I'm always on your side. You know that. You dragged us across the Atlantic Ocean and several continents to find her, involving quite a bit of sketchy business with a warlock so he would open a portal. I know how you feel about her. I just think that for right now you should just let it sit and see where things go. No offense, but I think that fighting Sebastian is slightly more important right now," James said.

Jake didn't say anything for a minute. He just let the words sink in. "But," he said, as his final argument. "What if something happens and I don't get to see her again? What if this fight kills us? I don't know if I could be happy dying, knowing that I didn't spend as much time with her, or at least fighting for her, as I could."

* * *

><p>Julia woke the next day with a start. She had another nightmare with Jake in it, this one showing a burning New York City from the top of the Statue of Liberty. She shook her head trying to clear the image from her mind. Why was the angel showing her these things? She still did not know which angel it was but she was certain it was the same one as last time. She remembered her parents telling her about when the mother of demons, Lilith, had planted dreams in her dad's head. But she had wards against that. It was not possible that a demon was feeding her these dreams.<p>

She rolled onto her side, staring at the wall in front of her and remembered back:

"_Mommy?" a six year old Julia asked quietly._

"_Yes sweetie," Clary responded, stroking her daughter's hair._

"_If the evil demon lady got into daddy's head, why can't she get into mine?"_

"_Honey," her mother responded. "Why would you ask a question like that?"_

"_I had a bad dream last night," she responded. Even more quietly she said, "A nightmare."_

"_Shadowhunters don't get nightmares," her dad had said entering the room._

"_But it was," Julia said rushing over to her dad. "I woke up scared and everything."_

"_What happened in your dream?" he asked._

"_There was a dark angel daddy. His hair was bleach blonde and his eyes were really black. He had black wings sprouting from behind his back and he kept coming toward me, telling me he was going to hurt me. It was really scary daddy," Julia said, wrapping her arms around her dad's leg._

_He stroked the top of her head. "There's no way a demon could have gotten in your head," he said. "You're protected from that."_

"_Then what was it?" she asked._

"_I don't know," he said. He knelt down in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "Julia, if you ever have a dream like that, ever again, I want you to come find me or your mother immediately. Okay?" he asked._

_She nodded at him, her eyes full of fear. "Don't be scared Ju. You have to be strong, remember?" he asked. She nodded again. "I'm sorry Julia. I'm sorry I'm being so hard on you. But you have to be ready. You need to be prepared. One day Sebastian is going to find a way out. You need to be ready for him."_

"_I know daddy," she said. She turned to look back at her mom who was staring at her with worry, biting her bottom lip. She slowly turned back to face her dad. _

"_Go get your training clothes on," he said to her. "I want to go over proper sword blocking with you before we work on some Chinese symbols."_

_Her eyes brightened. He probably would have given up being tough on her a long time ago if she did not get so excited every time they were training._

She was snapped out of her flashback by a knock on her door. "Yeah?" she asked.

"It's me," came Roy's voice.

"Come in," she replied. Her door creaked open and Roy slid in. His face was grim. "What's wrong?" she asked, sitting up.

"They're here," he responded.

"Who's here?" she asked, jumping up.

"Jake and all his little friends," Roy said bitterly. Julia threw her pillow at him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"You almost gave me a heart attack," she said. "I thought Jonathan was here."

"Oh. Julia," Roy said his face guilty. "I'm so sorry. I did not mean to scare you," he said, coming over to her and wrapping his arms around her.

"It's okay Roy," she said. "It's fine." She hesitated and then said, "How many are here?"

"Eight," he responded, his voice immediately sounding bitter again.

"And they're all here?" she asked. She was hoping that Roy would not realize that her question was intended to discover if Jake was here right now.

She could tell by the look her gave her when he responded that he had. "Yes. They're all here."

Julia was surprised that Jake showed up at the Institute and that he had brought the others with him. At least, she was surprised he did it so soon after their fight. She wanted to take back all the words she said to him, but one look at Roy told her she could never do that. "My parents want us all in the library," he said.

"I guess we should go then," she replied.

"Yeah, I guess," he agreed reluctantly.

* * *

><p>Jake sat stiffly in a chair in the library. He had no idea why he let James drag him here, but the others had all agreed to it. They were waiting for Julia and Roy. Mr. and Mrs. Machion were standing in front of him next to the heavy oak desk in the center of the room. Somehow Jake ended up in the front of the group. James was right behind him on a couch, hand in hand with Annie. Everyone else was crowded around them. Emmett sat in a chair off to the left, appearing almost uninterested in the meeting. His dark blue eyes gazed at Jake, not with dislike as he had expected but with curiosity.<p>

Jake looked away and began to gaze around the room. The library was not quite as big as the one in the London Institute which he had visited once with his father, but it was still marvelous to look at. The room was large and circular and filled with books from the floor up. Ladders stood every so often to allow access to the higher books. Looking at all the books made Jake remember how much Julia loved to read. So many times she had curled up against him, reading some book in a language he did not understand. Since he could not read the book with her and he had no desire to pick up a book of his own, he would often just stare at her, marveling at how perfectly her body fit with his, and how lost she could get in a book.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening and he looked up to see her. For a moment he allowed himself to pretend that she was still his and that she was walking toward him. Then he sighed, letting the image shatter as he absorbed the other details like the fact that she was not alone and that her and Roy were holding hands. He heard James shift behind him and knew they were having the same thought. James had tried to reason with Jake the previous night, but actually seeing Julia with someone else when he knew how much Jake loved her, and had seen Jake throw everything he had into finding her for the past month was difficult.

Julia hesitated a moment, as if uncertain as to where to stand and then her back straightened and she stood beside the Machion's, letting all emotions wash away from her face.

"Julia," Mr. Machion said, "Do you know all these kids?" Jake flinched slightly at that. After what he had been through he did not feel like a kid. But that was Shadowhunter law. Until you were an adult, you were considered a kid.

"Yes," she responded.

"They are all from the school in Alicante?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Do you trust them?" he asked.

"Most of them. A couple of them I don't know so well," she said. "But, if Jake and James trust them then I would have to say yes, I trust them all."

"We cannot afford to take risks. It is hard enough to hide you, but to hide eight more kids? We need to know that you trust them explicitly," he replied.

"I trust them," Julia replied. "But if you do not, perhaps you should talk to each of them individually. Get their stories?"

"I was going to talk to them as a group, but perhaps you are right. Maybe individually would be best." Jake did not like how they were looking at him and his friends, as if they were some kind of specimen being viewed under a microscope.

"We'd like if you did something," he said. "We did not come all the way here to sit in on a conference that you could have had without us." Mr. Machion's eyes flashed with anger.

"Fine," he said. "My wife and I will talk to each of you individually." His eyes traveled across the group before turning back to Jake. "Starting with you."

* * *

><p>Jake stood in front of the door. He really hoped Julia was not in here. He had just finished his questioning. Mr. Machion had tried to make him seem worse than he was, probably for Roy's sake, but Jake remained calm and just told the truth. In the end Mr. and Mrs. Machion accepted that he was telling the truth. He knocked lightly on the door in front of him. After a moment he heard some shuffling and then the door was flung open.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Roy asked with suspicion.

"Can I come in?" Jake asked.

"Why are you here?" Roy asked, not moving.

"I wanted to talk to you," Jake replied, trying to keep his voice level.

Roy gave an aggravated sigh and stepped aside. Jake entered the room and heard Roy close the door behind him. The room was painted a dark green. It was somewhat organized but there was a pile of clothes next to the bed and an assortment of Shadowhunter equipment on the desk.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"I wanted to let you know that I'm not going to stand in your way. Julia made her decision and I respect that. I hope that we can at least be friends, and if not that, then hopefully we can at least work together civilly," Jake said. The words almost killed him to say, but James had been right. Jonathan was a threat right now and Jake needed to focus on that.

Roy looked at him, his face a mask. "Is that all?" he asked.

"Yes," Jake replied, moving back toward the door. He was about to open in and leave when Roy spoke again.

"How did you know?" Roy asked, trying to keep his dislike from showing.

"Know what?" Jake asked.

"How did you know she was going to jump? You knew before she even moved."

Jake shrugged. "For most of the time that I knew her, she didn't have a voice. I got very good at interpreting her actions and thoughts without her saying a word. I just knew what she was going to do." With that, he opened the door and hurried out of the room, making Roy feel as if he didn't really know Julia at all.


	17. Resolutions

Julia headed down to breakfast the next day, not sure what to expect. Cyrus and Stella had decided they trusted everyone, although they were a little wary of Troy. That was probably because of his untrustworthy nature though. They had given everyone a room and everyone had gone to bed exhausted from the day's events. When she walked into the kitchen there was only one person in there.

"Hey James," she said tentatively. She had no idea what he thought of her right now.

To her relief he turned and smiled at her. "Hey Julia," he said in a friendly tone, coming over to give her a hug. "How've you been?" he asked.

Her expression fell a bit. "I've been okay, given the circumstances."

"I bet," he said, looking around. "How have you even been hiding here?" James asked. "Shadowhunters from all over the world pop in and out all the time."

She laughed. "It's been pretty easy. I haven't been here very long. Shadowhunters have only showed up a handful of times. I usually hide in my room or go out when they're here. So far no one has stayed more than a night. If they're here a whole day I just hide in my room and Roy and Emmett keep me company. Basically I listen every time I go around the corner, and check every room before I go in. It sucks, but it's the best I've had since I left."

James nodded. "I guess we'll have to get used to it," he said somberly.

"You will," she replied. "It's not as hard as it sounds." He nodded. "So how've you been?" she asked.

"I've been alright. It's a little bit rough. Jake and I went to go to my house after the battle ended but it was empty. I don't know if my parents are dead or missing."

"I'm sorry James," she said softly. "I'm sure they're alive."

"Probably," he replied. "I'm trying not to think about it too much. Jake's kept us all pretty distracted looking for you."

Julia looked away from him. "Sorry," he said. "I wasn't thinking."

"It's fine," she replied.

"Well, we're eating in the dining room. They said you guys usually eat in here, but given the number of people…" He made to leave the room but Julia stopped him.

"What about Jake's sister?" Julia asked. "I didn't get to ask him. Where is she?" James paused, his face filled with fear.

"Don't mention her to Jake," he replied.

"What happened?" she asked, suddenly fearful.

"She's fine. She's only ten and barely knows what's going on, but Jake feels like he abandoned her. He left without even a goodbye, and even though he's certain his dad would not hurt her, and he knows his mother will protect her, he's afraid for her, and he feels so bad about leaving her. He got really upset for almost a week when I asked him about her."

Julia felt sorrow for Jake well up inside her. "I'll be sure not to say anything," she said. "Thanks for telling me."

"Of course," he replied. "Well, we should probably get some breakfast. I just came to get some more OJ." He gestured for her to go in front of him, so she left the kitchen and headed for the dining room next door. Everyone was in there when they walked in. There seemed to be a little bit of tension but everyone was getting along fine as far as she could tell. That is, until she walked in. All chatter ceased the second she stepped through the door. Roy made a motion as if he was going to stand up and Jake immediately shifted his gaze away. She slowly headed to the chair next to Roy, while James returned to his spot next to Jake.

Julia said almost nothing during breakfast. Almost immediately after she sat down, chatter started up again. She listened to the conversations but wasn't really interested. She avoided looking at Jake at all costs. After breakfast she headed over to the weapons room, hoping everyone would just leave her alone. She was sure everyone would hate her because she was with Roy now, although James did not seem to care too much. Then again, James was always very reasonable.

The whole week passed without anything eventful happening. No out of town Shadowhunters came for a visit, and no word came in from the Clave. Julia was lying in her bed beginning to think she should go check out the cave near Alicante when someone started banging on her door.

"Julia!" came Troy's voice from the other side of the door. "Library, now!"

Julia jumped up and rushed to the door, but by the time she had got there Troy was already gone. She quickly followed after him, heading to the library.

"What's going on?" she asked, rushing in. Everyone was crowded around Jake.

"Annie and Macy are in the infirmary," Jake said. "We just went out to get some fresh air. Out of nowhere a bunch of demons started attacking us. They kept asking why you haven't come to Jonathan yet. When it was obvious we were going to win the fight, they said to give this to you." He was holding a sealed letter in his hand. Julia approached him and stuck her hand out, but he did not give it over. She could see the Morgenstern coat of arms stamped over the fold, keeping the envelope shut.

"Jake," she said, "let me have it."

"You know where he is?" he asked. "This entire time you've known where he was and you've said nothing? Meanwhile Shadowhunters have been disappearing every day. Where is he?" His eyes were cold and unforgiving.

"I have no idea where he is," she replied. He did not look like he believed her. She looked at everyone else in the room who were all staring at her with uncertainty. "Guys, I have no idea where he is!"

"Jake, just let her have the note," James said. "If she says she has no idea, then she has no idea."

Jake shot James a look and then held the letter out to Julia. She opened it and pulled out the letter. Her eyes scanned the letter quickly and then she rushed over to the fireplace and threw it in. Before anyone could say anything, she stormed out in anger.

"You really think that's going to make us trust you anymore?" Jake shouted after her. Julia just slammed the door behind her.

The words were blazing in the back of her mind.

_Do not think that I do not know where you are Julia._

_You know where I am._

_I will not stop attacking until you come to me._

_And come alone, or all who join you will die._

_-J_

Throwing the note in the fire had been reckless. She should not have burned it. She should have let them read it. Jake was right. Now they definitely were not going to trust her. She stopped when she heard Emmett shouting her name.

"Julia!" She turned to face him. "Are you okay?" he asked. She shook her head.

"What did the note say?" he asked.

"Nothing," she replied.

"You probably should not have thrown it in the fire," he said.

"I know."

"Was it from him?" he asked. She nodded again.

"Are you not going to tell anyone what it said?" he asked. "Not saying anything looks even more suspicious you know." He gave her a look that said this was her chance to tell him what it said before he no longer trusted her either.

"It basically said he wasn't going to leave us alone until I come to him."

"And do you know where he is?" Emmett asked.

Julia hesitated. She thought back to the one tip she had about Sebastian. It was the only place he could be that she knew. But should she tell Emmett and drag the rest of them into her fight? Jonathan specifically wrote that she should come alone or they would die. She thought of Jake and Roy and all the rest of them, and instantly made her decision. "No. I don't. I can't think of a single place he could be."

Emmett looked at her for a moment, as if trying to determine if she was telling the truth or not. He sighed in resignation, and said, "Alright. I guess we'll just have to fight him if he comes after us. Until then, you're going to have to keep racking your brain for anywhere he could be."

"I know. I've already been thinking. My parents never told me where exactly they trapped him, or gave me any idea of where he would go. I just can't seem to think of anywhere." She took a deep breath. "Are Annie and Macy going to be okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. They're not hurt that bad. Nothing a few iratze's can't heal."

"Good," she said. "Well, I'm going to go visit them and then brainstorm I guess. I'll see you later Emmett. And you can tell everyone what the note said."

"Will do," he replied. She turned to leave but he stopped her. "He's never going to stop is he?" Emmett asked.

"Not until someone stops him," Julia responded.

* * *

><p>Jake was infuriated. How could she just burn the letter? How could she not tell them if she knew where Sebastian was? Moments after Julia stormed out, he followed suit; not to confront her but to try and clear his head. Even when he had found out she was dating Roy, he did not think it was a mistake to come and find her. But now, he was beginning to think it was a huge mistake. She clearly did not trust any of them. Of course she did not trust anyone, he thought suddenly. She had trusted him and he had thrown it right back in her face by deciding not to leave with her. Why should she trust anyone? Her entire life she had been taught not to trust anyone and when she finally did…he exhaled deeply. He had to go see her. He headed to her room.<p>

No one answered when Jake knocked on the door. He knocked again and after another few moments with no response he turned the handle to see if she had fallen asleep or if she was even in there at all. The room was empty. It was white and monotonous. There was nothing individualizing about it at all. Even the picture with her and her parents was not out in plain sight. The only thing that told him it was her room and not just one of the many extra rooms, was her jacket draped over the edge of the bed. He had never really noticed how much of a neat freak she was, but thinking back he realized how organized she always was. She was obviously not in the room so he turned around to leave and found himself standing face to face with her.

"What are you doing here?" Julia asked brushing past him. "I thought you hated me."

"I could never hate you," he replied softly. She said nothing in response. "Where were you?" he asked.

"I went to see Annie and Macy, but they were sleeping when I got there."

"I didn't mean to blame you for the attack," he blurted. "We chose to come here, and I know you've told us everything you can."

She looked at him as if she was trying to decide if he genuinely meant it, or if he still hated her and was just saying it because someone forced him to.

"Basically I'm trying to apologize," he said to clarify his intentions.

"Apology accepted," she said, sitting on her bed. She looked so beautiful to him. Her hair had grown a couple more inches and it was hanging loosely around her shoulders. Her golden eyes could not have been any brighter than if they were the sun shining down on him.

"I should probably go," he said, his heart jerking. He wanted to rush over and kiss her, but knew that was probably the worst mistake he could make at the moment.

"Why don't you stay?" she asked. "Talk to me?"

"That's probably not a good idea," he replied, ignoring the quickening pace in his heart.

"Why not?" she asked, frowning.

"Do you really want me to pretend that I'm not still madly in love with you?" he asked. "I promised Roy I would stay out of the way, and I don't think I'd be able to do that if we were alone in a room together. Please don't ask me to do that," he said.

"I just thought we could try and be friends," she replied looking down. It killed him to see her like this. But what else could he do? He would never be able to control himself around her.

"I don't know if that's possible," he replied, his voice cracking slightly. She didn't look up. "I'm going to go," he said, knowing she was probably about to start crying. "But Julia, if you ever change your mind…I'll be waiting." With that, he left.

* * *

><p>Julia lay on her bed for hours. She thought a long time about Jake and what he had said. Never had she so badly wanted to end things with Roy and rush after Jake. She was finally beginning to admit to herself that he was what she really wanted. Roy was great. She pictured her and Roy walking through life together, side by side. But Jake… It wasn't like they were going through the world together; he was her world. But how could she possibly end things with Roy? He was amazing. And Jake had let her go. What was she going to do?<p>

Soon her thoughts drifted to the letter. Sebastian was not going to stop. He was going to attack her and her friends, and everyone she cared about until she went to him. She could not ignore that. She had spent too much time sitting idle, merely guessing at where he could be. He said she knew where he was and she could only think of one place. He also told her she had to come alone. Julia knew that the threat would be carried out if she arrived with anyone else. Surely if she told anyone they would come with her no matter what. And would she really be able to sneak away? No. Besides, they would just track her. What she really needed to do was make it so they would not follow her.

A plan began to form in Julia's head. Even as she thought it, the plan disgusted her. It would work, of that she was sure, but it was not something she wanted to do. If she somehow lived through a fight with Sebastian, she would come back into the Shadowhunter world with no friends. But it would be worth it to save all of their lives would it not? Julia sighed. She knew what she had to do.


	18. Pain

Julia finally forced herself to climb out of bed. She needed to plan. Most importantly, she needed to find a Warlock to open a portal. Judging by the amount of sunlight, it was probably about seven or eight. She headed to the kitchen to see if she could find something to eat. No one was in there when she arrived. She headed to the fridge and moved around some containers trying to find something appetizing. There was a tub of chicken in the back. She pulled it out, put the chicken on a plate and put it on the microwave. As Julia waited for the chicken to heat, she let her thoughts drift off to everything she had lost. After silently asking the Angel to make sure her parents were okay, she wondered once more what had happened to Simon and Magnus…

* * *

><p>"I don't know why you keep doing that," Magnus said, his catlike eyes fixed on Simon.<p>

Simon felt the sting of the burn as he clamped one silver band over is wrist. He stared wistfully at the Star of David, wishing it did not burn so much. Chains rattled as he reached his arm over and clamped the other one down. "You know why," Simon said, as the demon guard left the room after being sure Simon had actually secured himself.

"In case you have forgotten, Cain was a wanderer and so you are meant to be. Why do you put off what is?" Magnus asked.

"Jonathan has control over Jace. If I leave or fight or do whatever you think I should do, he will have Jace come after me. Jace will be forced to attack me, and poof. He will turn into a cloud of dust."

"After all these years have you truly come to care for Jace so much?" Magnus asked sarcastically.

"You know perfectly well that Jace and I are friends. Besides, do you really think I would do that to Clary?" Simon asked. Before Magnus could say anything Simon asked, "And what's your excuse?"

"To what are you referring?" Magnus asked.

"Don't play dumb with me Magnus. You let them take you. They might have done something to you know so you cannot escape, but when they came to us you could have disappeared faster than I could have," Simon said.

Magnus sighed. "I do regret leaving Julia to deal with this. I promised her I would help and part of me wishes I had stayed to, but I also told her I felt no desire to live without Alexander. I was hoping when they captured me they would put us somewhere where he was, or just kill me."

"So you chose rooming in an elegantly decorated cavern with moi instead of at least trying to fight to get Alec and the others out?" Simon asked. "Is you're old age messing with your mind?"

"Do not make fun of my age," Magnus replied in a mock offended voice. They both laughed for a minute and then fell silent.

"When do you think they'll come take us to questioning again?" Magnus asked.

"Who knows," Simon replied. "I don't even know why they bother to take me. It's not like they can threaten me into saying anything." He pushed his glasses up higher, wincing as his wrists stretched against the metal cuffs and burned him. Magnus looked at him with pity. The two of them lapsed into silence again, each taking comfort in the other's presence.

* * *

><p>Roy went to find a snack in the kitchen and found Julia sitting there, picking at some chicken. "Hey babe," he said walking over to her and kissing her on the cheek before heading to the fridge.<p>

"Hey," she said. She sounded upset.

"Something wrong?" he asked, pulling out a bag of chips.

"No," she said. "I'm just tired."

"Tired?" he asked. "Didn't you sleep like twelve hours last night?"

"I probably got too much sleep," she replied.

He sat down next to her and put his leg on the rung of her chair. "What're you thinking of right now?" he asked.

"My parents," she said.

Suddenly the door opened. "Hey guys," Jake said. "Guess I'm not the only one who's hungry."

Roy was frustrated. Julia was usually short with her answers with him, and he wanted to open her up. They had spent very little time together lately and he barely knew what was going on with her.

"Do you want my chicken?" Julia asked, finally looking up. "I'm not going to finish it." That made Roy even angrier. Why didn't she offer _him_ her chicken? Why did she not look up once when he walked in or when he was talking to her, but the second Jake walked in her head snapped right up?

"Sure," he replied. She handed her plate up to him, and he took it and sat down across from them.

"So how are you guys?" he asked. Roy said nothing, just wanting him to leave.

"Okay," Julia replied. Hers and Jake's eyes were locked on each other.

"Which means not okay," Jake replied.

Julia shrugged. "I just miss my parents," she said.

"And?" Jake replied.

"And everyone else," Julia said. Jake shot her a look. "I just feel lonely sometimes,  
>she said. "I do things all the time and wonder what my parents would think about it. I just hope that they would be proud of what I've done."<p>

"Jake," Roy said suddenly. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Roy asked. His anger had slowly turned into infuriation. Why did Julia never tell him anything but the second Jake walked in and asked, she told him?

Jake looked at him with shock. "Sure?" he said, confused. Julia looked back down again, putting her head in her hands. Jake got up and followed Roy out into the hallway.

"Can you just leave us alone for right now?" Roy asked. "I'm trying to talk to Julia."

"Sure, Roy. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," Jake responded. Instead of making Roy feel better it made him angrier. He wanted to yell and shout, and Jake was not really making it possibly by calmly apologizing and saying he would stay out of the way.

"Whatever," Roy responded.

"Why do you hate me so much Roy?" Jake asked.

"You hurt Julia," Roy responded. "And…and she still loves you."

"What?" Jake asked. "No. She made her decision. She chose you."

"That doesn't mean she doesn't still love you," Roy replied, his voice filled with exasperation. "Don't think I don't see how she looks at you still, and how she acts around you."

"I don't know…" Jake started to say.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Roy replied, his voice rising in anger.

Julia opened the door. "Is everything okay out here?" she asked.

"No, it's not okay," Roy replied. Julia looked at Jake but he just gave her a half shrug as if he did not know what was going on.

"What's wrong Roy?" Julia asked.

"What's wrong?" he repeated. "What's wrong?" His voice rose once again. "What's wrong is, you open up to him like you never opened up to me," Roy said. "I ask you something and you hesitate before giving me half an answer. He asks you something and he gets the whole story without hesitation. I have to dig and dig to get the smallest answer from you and you just tell him our life story after he gives you one look."

Julia just stared at him. "What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Why do you two keep pretending you don't know what I'm talking about," he asked.

"Because we don't," Jake replied. "Look, Roy, I told you I would lay-off so I am. Julia told you she loves you, and she does. We're trying to be friends here."

"Well I don't want you to be friends," Roy shouted. Julia and Jake looked at him as if he was crazy.

"Roy, we're going to have to work together," Julia replied.

"That's fine," Roy said, regretting having shouted. "But other than that, I really don't want to see you two together."

Julia and Jake shared a glance. "Fine," Jake said, looking away first. "Fine. I'm sorry Roy." He left in a hurry.

"What the hell was that?" Julia asked, turning on Roy.

"I'm threatened by him, okay?" Roy said.

"Look, I'm just gonna go," Julia said. "I just need some time," she added.

"Are you breaking up with me?" he asked

"No Roy. Stop being so paranoid. I just…I just need a few minutes." She left as well, leaving him standing there alone. He threw his fist at the wall in anger and then entered the kitchen to clean up.

* * *

><p>Julia wandered around, not sure of where she wanted to go exactly. Why was Roy being so ridiculous? Is he really being all that ridiculous? A voice in the back of her mind asked. She guessed it made sense that he didn't want her around Jake. Ah well, she reasoned. Pretty soon it wouldn't matter at all…<p>

She ended up near the infirmary and decided to see if Macy and Annie were awake. James was sitting on the side of Annie's bed when she entered. Macy was sitting up, a bandage on her arm. The three of them were talking.

"Hey guys," Julia said, stepping through the doorway. "I just wanted to see how you guys were doing.

"We'll be fine," Annie said. Julia didn't say anything.

"We don't blame you Julia," Macy added.

"You should," Julia replied. "This is all my fault."

"There was nothing you could have done," James said.

"He's attacking because of me," Julia replied.

"Look, I've gotta meet Jake for training," James said, getting up, "but don't blame yourself okay? We don't blame you."

He gave her a sympathetic look and then left.

"Really we don't," Annie said after he was gone.

Julia just shrugged it off. "Well as long as you guys are okay."

"We're fine."

"So Julia, tell me," Macy said, "Why does Emmett sit in on all the meetings? He never seems interested?"

"Emmett…Emmett is a very good judge of character," Julia replied.

"Why did you hesitate?" Macy asked.

"Do you like him?" Julia asked.

"I don't know, I don't really know him," Macy responded, but she was blushing.

"Macy, Emmett's a really good guy. After a week he practically became a big brother to me. But he's kind of a ladies man. Not kind of. He is."

"I didn't say I liked him Julia," Macy said, but she giggled lightly and she was still blushing.

"Right," Julia replied. "Well I have to get going. I should get some sleep. Hopefully you guys will be out of here soon."

"Mrs. Machion said by tomorrow," Annie said.

"Good. I'll see you guys later." Julia hesitated at the door and then added, "I'm really glad you guys weren't too badly injured." Before they could say anything she was gone.

* * *

><p>Jake saw the slit of light come through his door. He could hear footsteps coming down the hall. They stopped in front of the door, the person's feet casting a shadow in the line of light under his door. He saw the handle turning and sat up. Julia's head poked around the corner.<p>

"Are you up?" she asked.

"No. I'm sitting up in my sleep."

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"What do you want Julia?" he asked, his voice tired.

"You," she responded, stepping in quickly and closing the door.

He stared at her, confused as to whether he heard her correctly or not. "What?" he asked, sitting up even more, running a hand through his hair.

She quickly moved across the room to stand in front of him. "I want you," she said, leaning over and kissing him.

"Are you drunk?" he asked, pulling away.

"Not at all," she responded. She pushed a hand against his chest, pushing him back. She quickly climbed on top of him and kissed him again.

"Julia," he said, breaking away again. "What are you doing?"

"What?" she asked. "You don't remember what kissing is."

"You're dating Roy," he said, ignoring the fact that she was sitting on him right now, with her hands on his chest. Little shocks were going through his body at every point they touched.

"No," she responded, moving her face closer to his. Their lips were less than an inch away and he could feel her sweet breath on his face. "I want you," she said again.

"You broke up?" he asked breathily.

"Yes," she responded quickly before pulling his head to hers again and kissing him, much more forcefully than the first time.

* * *

><p>Julia tried to creep out of his room as quietly as possible. She never should have spent the night. She closed the door softly and saw the last person she wanted to see at the moment. She knew there would be confrontation, but she was hoping it would not be this soon. Julia was sure her hair was a mess, and her clothes were wrinkled.<p>

"Julia?" Roy asked approaching her. "What're you doing here?" He looked back and forth from her to Jake's door. Now that he had caught her, Julia tried to make her expression as guilty as possibly. The angrier he was the better.

"What do you care?" she asked.

"What were you doing in there?" he asked her.

"Does it matter?" she asked.

"Of course it does."

At the moment the door opened, cutting off whatever Roy was going to say next.

"Did she spend the night with you?" Roy asked, spinning on Jake. Jake was not wearing a shirt, and his hair was a mess.

"She did a lot more than spend the night," Jake replied, a half grin on his face.

"You slept with him?" Roy asked, spinning back to face Julia, the pain and hurt evident on his face. Julia forced herself to look into his eyes.

"Yes," she responded.

"We're over. Done," he said.

"Wait you guys were still dating?" Jake asked. Roy had started to walk away. Julia could not get herself to look after him, fearing that if she did she would ask him to stop. "Dude, I didn't know," Jake said to Roy's retreating figure.

"Whatever," Roy responded. "You've always wanted her, you have her. You win. I'm done." With that he broke into a run down the hall and quickly disappeared down the corner.

"What the hell?" Jake shouted turning on Julia. She remained emotionless.

"What?" she asked keeping her voice indifferent, while dying inside.

"How could you do that? Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't think you'd mind," she responded, "we had fun didn't we?" . She could tell her voice sounded detached. She was on the fringe of breaking and just wanted to get away before she said anything too spiteful. But Jake was not ready to let her go just yet.

"You didn't think I'd mind? Do you even care about either of us at all?"

"Unfortunately, the only one I will ever care about is myself Jake. Surely you know that. I played you all so well, didn't I? You fit so perfectly into my hand, caring for me and even loving me it seems, when I simply needed people to help me find information. I thank you," she finished with fake bow and a flourish.

"You never cared for me? Or Roy? I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want. What are you to me Jacob Fireblade? What do I care for you or Roy? I am Julia Herondale, one of the greatest Shadowhunters ever to live. I don't need tales of me being tarnished by others names. I stand alone. I got what I wanted from you, and now I'm leaving."

"I fell for you," he said quietly. "I fell in love with you. I stood by you when you had no voice, and wouldn't tell me your past. And then I searched for you for months."

"Someone call The Times. That was such a great story it should be a headliner," she said, resorting to the witticisms that disguised all Herondale's true emotions.

"How could you do this to me?" he asked, his voice breaking. Through the pain in his voice, she could almost feel his heart breaking. Julia was so close to cracking, she had to get out. She could see the hurt, the agony. It was nearly killing her, but it would keep him alive. What she had done would keep him and Roy alive. They would not follow her to where she was going and might never return from. They would not be slaughtered by Sebastian.

"Then go," he responded bitterly. "Go and let us heal from the games you have so clearly enjoyed playing. Go live your life Julia _Herondale_, and stay out of ours." He said her name with bitterness and distaste. She nearly broke down at that moment, told him it was all a lie, and begged forgiveness. But she remained strong. She had done what she had set out to do. She only hoped that she had not broken the two boys beyond fixing.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I'm sorry guys don't hate me! It's just the way it turned out! She's trying to save them. P.S. Thanks again for all the reviews and followings!**


	19. Cave

Julia wandered down the street, pulling her jacket tighter around her. A chilly spring wind cut right through her clothes. She had gone back to her room only to change into her gear and grab some weapons. Then she left, bringing nothing, not even the picture of her and her parents, with her. She tried to force her past out of her mind and focus only on what was ahead of her but she could not get Roy and Jake's betrayed faces out of her mind.

She shook her head, trying to clear the images as she took in her surroundings. She was standing by two warehouses on the edge of the city. The sun had just set to her left. Grimlo, the warlock who promised to help her, had said he would meet her here, but she saw no sign of him. Julia supposed she could go into one of the warehouses to find him but he had said he would meet her here. She was just about to go looking for her when there was a rustling off to her left and she turned to see Grimlo walking toward her. His skin had a bluish hue to it and his eyes were a disorienting yellow.

"The infamous Julia Herondale," he said, his smile was cocky and confidant.

"Grimlo," she replied curtly.

"This is shorter notice than I was informed I would have," he said.

"Something came up," she replied shortly. "Can you help me or not?"

"I will require a higher payment."

"Fine."

"Just one question," he said.

"What?" She asked, trying to keep the irritation from her voice.

"Rumor has it you have your own tricks. They say you used a rune to open a portal to leave Idris. If you have this ability to make a portal, what do you need me for?"

Julia looked at him for a moment, debating, and then said. "I need someone to know where I'm going."

"Why?" He asked.

"I want them to find me eventually," she replied. His eyes flickered up in shock for a brief moment before he grinned again and said, "Well then let's get started."

* * *

><p>"I know where she went!" Jake said suddenly.<p>

"Where?"

"What?"

"How?"

The questions poured out around him. Jake had gone to the kitchen around two to grab some food. He had avoided both breakfast and lunch in hopes of not seeing Roy. He had run into James. Jake thought back to their conversation.

"_Have you seen Julia?" James asked._

"_No, why?" Jake asked._

"_No one's seen her," James replied._

"_Good," Jake replied._

"_I knew something was up," James said. "What happened?"_

"_Nothing."_

"_Jake," James said, "What happened?"_

"_She came to me last night, said she broke up with Roy, and we kinda sorta hooked up. Come to find out this morning that they never broke up, and now I feel like a crappy person for doing that to him."_

_James looked at him. "It's not technically your fault," James said._

"_Doesn't mean I don't feel bad about it," Jake said, stuffing a sandwich into his mouth. "Either way, I'm not okay with what she did. I'm pretty pissed about it, actually. So if she's gone, I don't really care. She can die for all I care."_

"_Jake," James said, his expression filled with shock. "You don't mean that. You love Julia."_

"_Yeah, I do. But she obviously does not love me. You do not do that to someone you love. And if she doesn't love me back then good riddance," Jake said indignantly._

"_Well I get that she's not showing her face at meals, but she wasn't in her room or anywhere else. I just have a bad sense," James said. "I'm going to go search her room."_

Now here they were, sitting in the kitchen after discovering that Julia's gear and her two prized knives were gone, trying to figure out where she went. "Well, I don't know exactly, but I know she went to look for Jonathan. She must have really known where he was all along," he told the group.

"How do you know she went to find him?" Mr. Machion asked.

"When she came to see me last night," he said, avoiding looking at Roy, "I didn't notice then, but now thinking back, she was covered in runes."

"So what?" Roy asked. "We're all covered in runes."

"Not just regular runes though. They were fighting runes."

"Maybe she was just going to pick a fight with some demons or something," Annie said.

"No. She went to fight him. I know she did," he said. No one said anything. "I just don't get why she didn't say anything to us. Why she didn't ask us to come along."

"Like you said earlier," Roy cut in, his voice full of hate, "she never really cared about us." Jake had told them everything she had said to him before she left that morning.

"We need to find her," Jake said, ignoring Roy.

"Maybe we should start by asking some Downworlders," Emmett said. Roy shot him an angry look as if to say whose side are you on? Like Jake, Emmett ignored him and continued on. "She had tons of meetings with them while she was here. I'm sure she got to know a lot of the sketchier characters. If she was trying to hide or get away, maybe one of them helped her."

"She could draw a portal rune," Roy said. "She was ten times the Shadowhunter any of us will ever be. Why would she need the help of Downworlders?"

"I don't know Roy, but I don't really plan on sitting here and doing nothing."

Roy's expression turned sour. He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Why are we even bothering to look for her? If she went to go find Jonathan, then let her. Why is she such a big deal?"

"Roy!" his mother scolded.

"Roy," his father said, a little more calmly than his mother, "I know you're angry, and I know the last thing you want is to find her, but Julia may have just gone after one of the most dangerous people out there. We need to find her, if for no other reason than the fact that she is probably the only one who can defeat Jonathan."

Roy stood up, the anger seeping out of him. "If she's the only one who can defeat him then why are we trying to find her! If she went to go find him and she can stop him, then we should just let her go, let her do her thing!" he shouted.

"We do not abandon our fellow Shadowhunters," his father replied angrily, also standing up. "I'm sorry for what she did to you son, but we are at war, and at the very least we can provide back up for her."

"Have fun then," Roy said. "But count me out." Without another word he left the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

No one spoke for a moment after he left. Not able to take it anymore, Emmett said, "I'm going to Taki's to see if I can get some info. If anyone wants to join me."

* * *

><p>Julia stood in front of the cave. She knew it was the right one immediately. The large cavernous opening felt morbid and foreboding. It had taken her several hours to walk there and it was starting to get dark. She pulled out her stele and drew several runes on her arms. After another moment of staring at the entrance, she pulled out her witchlight and without hesitation walked into the cave. After all, where else did she have to go?<p>

Thanks to the soundless rune she had drawn, her feet made no noise on the loose stones in the entrance. She was surprised there were no demons guarding the entryway. Her grip on the witchlight loosened a bit and more light spread into the open area. There were two cave openings off the main hall that she was in. Julia shined the light into both and, after going with her gut feeling, took the left.

The hallway went from wide to very narrow. She was squeezing through sideways, a knife in the hand that was leading. The witchlight trailed behind casting an eerie glow on her. Just as she began to think the path was going nowhere, she squeezed through a particularly tight spot and came into a small cavern. She lifted the witchlight up and saw that it was small. There were six openings coming off of it, other than the one she had just come through. They went around the room in a circle, each about two feet wide, and that was about the size of the cavern. The ceiling looked to be about ten feet high. Julia went to the opening to her left, to peer into it and see if there was anything there, but paused when she heard a sound. It sounded like someone was coming from the hallway across from the slit she had just squeezed through.

Julia froze in place. She was trying to decide if she should flee down one of the halls, or stand and fight. Then she realized she came here to find Sebastian and bring him down. She would not back down or run and hide. She would stand and fight.

Julia stood with a knife in one hand and a witchlight in the other, waiting for someone to walk through the entryway and find her. The footsteps grew closer and closer and her heart raced faster and faster. Finally, she saw a foot appear followed by a tall man. His hair was almost white and he had a very muscular build covered by a suit of black gear. Julia's eyes sought his and saw a depthless black. Her sharp intake of breath was very loud in the small cave.

It only made him laugh. "Well, well, well," he said with mock formality. "It's finally nice to meet the daughter of Jace and Clary." Julia's hand tightened on the knife. She didn't respond.

"Julia," he said calmly, "put the knife away. Your parents are waiting to see you." He gestured down the hallway as if indicating she should go.

"Like I would allow you to be behind me, Jonathan." She spat out his name trying to put as much venom in the name as possible.

He only laughed. "As you wish," he said. "I shall lead, and you may follow if you so desire."

She hesitated for a moment, debating going down one of the other halls, maybe trying to find another way. But she realized there was no use. At least this way she could watch him from behind. She sighed and followed after him.

* * *

><p>Emmett felt bad. He knew Roy was angry with him. But there really was a war going on, and Emmett was not about to just stand aside while it was happening. He had no idea why Julia did what she did. He thought and thought about it, but it made no sense to him. It was something that was completely out of character for her. He felt horrible for Roy and knew he was heartbroken, but she had betrayed Jake too and here he was next to Emmett running along with him to Taki's. Emmett glanced over at Jake. His head was bent down to protect him from the wind, and his face was completely emotionless. When Emmett had left the Institute Jake had wordlessly followed him. Several times Emmett tried to talk to him but Jake would not respond.<p>

Finally Jake had said, "I'm doing this to stop Jonathan, not to find her," and Emmett had stopped trying to talk to him.

They entered Taki's with a gust of wind and several people looked up. Viola, the waitress Emmett usually flirted with, rushed right over.

"Emmett, darling, can I get you a table?" she asked, her voice sugary sweet.

"Not right now babe," he replied. "I wanted to speak to Johnny."

She pouted her lips. "Shadowhunter business?"

"Yes."

"I was hoping you were here to stay for a while," she responded, her face still pouty.

"Not today, hun. Is Johnny in or not?" he asked.

She looked away in resignation. "He's at the bar today."

"Thanks babe. I'll come back and visit really soon," he said.

That made her smile again. "I know you will," she said.

Roy approached the bar, Jake trailing behind him.

"Emmett, my boy," the man behind the bar said enthusiastically upon seeing them. "What can I do for you?"

"I was hoping we could talk somewhere," Emmett said, "privately."

"Well I'm just in the middle of work as you can see," he said, gesturing to the bar with his arms.

"It's kind of a matter of life or death," Emmett said. Johnny looked at him for a moment and then said, "go into the backroom, I'll meet you there in a minute."

Emmett hurried around the bar and went through the doorway leading to the back. There were boxes of beer and alcohol and Coke and juice everywhere. He sat down on a safe looking stack of boxes and Jake sat across from him on an unsteady chair. Neither of them said a word and a minute later Johnny came in the back. He looked like he was part werewolf with his shaggy facial hair and his body muscularly built.

He shut the door to the backroom behind him and pulled up another chair. Sitting off to the side, he glanced briefly at Jake and then turned his attention back to Emmett. "And what can I do for you Shadowhunter?" he asked of Emmett.

Emmett decided to cut right to the chase. "You remember a blonde Shadowhunter girl with gold eyes. She held and awful lot of meetings behind closed doors here."

"Doesn't ring a bell," Johnny said.

"I'm not playing around Johnny," Emmett said. He knew Johnny's game. Johnny would continue to play dumb until things were in his favor. "We need to find her."

"I don't know where she is," Johnny said.

"Someone knows where she is. I want to know who she met with. We need to find her now," Emmett said.

"I don't think I can help you," Johnny replied. "Julia set up all her own meetings. I just let her use my rooms."

"You have to know something," Emmett said.

"I'm sorry Emmett, I don't," he said, looking sincere.

"I guess you can't help us then," Emmett said, standing up.

"Is he back?" Johnny asked, rising with them.

"What?" Emmett asked. "Who?"

"Jonathan," Johnny said quietly. "Is he back?"

"How do you know about Jonathan?" Emmett asked.

"Julia needed information. She had to let us know what she wanted information about. There had been many rumors in the Downworld that he was still out there, and Julia confirmed them. Did he take her? Is that why you're trying to find her?" he asked with concern.

"She went to fight him on her own," Emmett said. "We're trying to find her to help her."

"I'm sorry I could not help. She's a rare one," Johnny said. "I hope you find her in time."

"Thank you," Emmett said. Jake followed him out of the back.

As they were walking past the bar he said, "Do you think we'll find Julia?" His voice was full of fear and caused Emmett to pause.

"We'll keep looking until we find her," Emmett said. "Don't worry."

They exited the restaurant and began to hurry down the street

"Hey," they heard someone shout behind them. They both stopped and turned. A warlock was coming after them. He had bluish skin and yellow eyes. "Hey," he said approaching them. "I think I can help you."

"We're not looking for warlock assistance," Emmett said, "but thank you."

"I heard you were looking for Julia," he said.

"And you are?" Jake asked.

"Grimlo," the warlock said.

"What do you know Grimlo?" Jake asked.

"I want promised immunity for what I did," Grimlo said.

"We can't promise that," Emmett said.

"I didn't hurt anyone, I didn't kill anyone. I just did what Julia asked. All I'm asking is that you do not take me in for breaking the one law I broke."

Jake and Emmett shared a look. "Fine," Emmett said. "What do you know."

Grimlo smiled, "I opened an unapproved portal for Julia almost an hour ago. It let her out right outside of Idris. She mentioned something about going to a cave."

Emmett and Jake's eyes opened in shock. "Did she say which cave?" Jake asked. "There are hundreds."

"She did not. I'm sorry," Grimlo said.

"Can you send us to where you sent her?" Emmett asked. "Us and several others?"

"My immunity?" Grimlo asked.

"I promise," Emmett replied. "Meet us at the park, tomorrow morning?"

"I will be there," Grimlo said.

* * *

><p>Julia followed Sebastian down a long dark hall. The walls were close together. She could feel the air getting more and more stale the further in they traveled.<p>

"There's an opening ahead of us," Jonathan said, his voice echoing off the walls. Julia followed him to the entrance. The cave was lit with witchlight. There were two people inside the room. After stepping through, Jonathan stepped off to the side allowing Julia to step through. She stopped right in the entryway. There they were, after all this time. His golden blonde hair was longer than she remembered. It was falling into his golden eyes. Her red hair was in gentle waves past her shoulders. Her green eyes were staring at Julia. Her parents. They were right there in front of her. She wanted to run at them, rush to them and give them hugs and hold onto them. She never wanted to let them go.

Instead she gripped her knife tightly and stared at Jonathan.

"Julia," her dad said, his voice choked up with emotions. He took a couple of steps toward her.

Her mom did the same. "Honey," she said, her eyes filling with tears. Julia looked at Sebastian again and then decided she did not care. If he was going to kill her then her last seconds of life would be in the arms of her parents. She rushed toward them, flinging her arms around them and the three of them held on to each other, wrapped in one big hug.


	20. Search

**A/N:** **Sorry I haven't been updating as fast as I used to. School's started up so I have that now, and I've started working on my next fanfic which I will start posting when this one is done. It's about a Shadowhunter hiding from the Shadowworld, and then glamours start to fail. What do you think? **

**P.S. I will try and update as fast as I was before. Thanks for reading! **

Roy heard a knock on his door. He ignored it. The person knocked louder. He continued to ignore it.

"Roy," Emmett's voice said, "Open up." Still Roy lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Fine," Emmett said. "You lie on the bed and mope. There is a war going on out there Roy. There are bigger things out there than you and your relationship. When all this is over, you can sort out your problems, but I think you should at least be trying to help." Roy continued to stare at his ceiling.

Emmett was quiet for several minutes before Roy heard, "We're meeting the warlock Grimlo on 57th Street tomorrow at 9a.m. He's going to open a portal for us. We're pretty sure we know where Julia is. I think you should join us." After that Roy heard the definitive sound of Emmett's retreating footsteps. Still he continued to stare up at his ceiling. For several more hours Roy lay there, not sure what to feel, not sure what to think, and not sure what to do.

He could not fall asleep so he swung his legs over the edge of his bed and got up. Quietly he left his room and went down several hallways to Julia's. He opened to door quietly, half expecting to find her sleeping with her blonde hair sprawled across the pillow. But the room was empty. If not for the picture on the dresser and the duffle bag on the floor, it would have been almost impossible to even tell that someone had stayed in this room. She had done nothing to make it hers. Nothing to personalize it or set this room apart from others. Had she left it the way it was because it had never really felt like home to her? Or was it because she knew she would not be staying long?

Roy picked up the picture of Julia and her parents. He saw a genuine smile on her face. One that went all the way up to her eyes. A smile that he had never seen on her. In that instant Roy knew exactly what he was going to do. The decision had always been made; he just did not want to admit it. He went back to his room to catch some sleep, knowing he had to get up early to be at 57th street by 9.

* * *

><p>"Alright, alright," Jonathan said. "Enough of the feel-good family moment here. You're making me sick." Julia gave her parent's one last squeeze and then she broke apart from them. The three of them turned to face Jonathan, and Julia felt her father put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.<p>

"Let's negotiate," Jonathan said his voice smooth and silky.

"There is no negotiating with you," Jace said. "You just take what you want."

"In this case, I will negotiate. I think it will be easier for both parties that way," Jonathan replied

"What do you want from us?" Clary asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I told you from the start dear sister. All I want is a lineage. Who better to start it with than a family line with an extra amount of Angel blood? Since you were not able to bear me a child, I figured your daughter was the next best thing." He turned to Julia with a grin so evil it repulsed her.

"It won't work," Jace said. "Valentine was feeding Clary's mom with Angel blood while she was pregnant. Julia having your children will not yield the same results."

"Regardless, the child will have demon and angel blood, as well as possibly some human. We do not know what exactly the child will be, but we can be sure it will be powerful."

"I won't have your children," Julia spat out.

"I think you will," Jonathan replied. "You see, there is this little thing called leverage and I happen to have some over you." His eyes flickered to her parents. "Is being with me really so bad when it will keep your parents and their friends alive? And when your friends arrive, I will take them too, and hold them until you do as I desire."

Julia looked straight into Jonathan's eyes, hoping to call a bluff. "My parents and their friends have lived their lives. If they die, then they die. As to my friends, I made it quite sure that they would not come after me. And I do not think you will be going after them. Kidnapping all the members of the New York Institute when you are already raising suspicion would not be a good idea would it?" she asked.

"You realize," he said maliciously, his eyes narrowing, "that you do not have to be willing for me to take you." That was the last thing Julia remembered before a hand came up behind her and knocked her unconscious.

* * *

><p>Julia woke up unable to see. She worried for a moment, thinking she was blind, but slowly her eyes adjusted to the dark cave. She was in a small cell made of rock, the entryway blocked by iron bars. She stretched out, seeing how much room she had. She was able to stretch her entire body out straight without touching the walls. The area she was in was bigger than she thought. Her weapons and stele were gone. Julia felt a dull throb on the back of her head and ran her hand along her hairline to find a little bump there. She tried to think back. Had her own father really knocked her out? How much control did Jonathan have over him?<p>

Julia dropped all pretense of thinking of him as Sebastian. He was Jonathan. Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern. From now on she would think of him as who we was. Other than the bump on her head, Julia did not think anything else was wrong. Jonathan must not have done anything to her yet. Suddenly she saw a glow dim coming from the hallway in front of her and she lay back down, pretending to be asleep still. She heard someone approach the cell and the sound of someone sliding their hand across the bars reached her ears.

"You can stop pretending," came Jonathan's voice. "I know you're awake."

Julia turned onto her side and quickly pushed herself to her feet. "Where are my parents?"

"Tsk tsk Julia. You lost your parents? To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."

"Funny. I never pegged you as an Oscar Wilde fan."

He shrugged. "When you grow up basically on your own, you have a lot of spare time."

Julia rolled her eyes. "I do not want to force you into anything Julia," he said, his voice soft. "I was hoping you would see the good in what we could do together."

"Killing Shadowhunters is not necessarily my idea of good," she replied.

"Only to create a better, stronger race."

"First of all, the 'race' would be half demon. Shadowhunters purpose is to destroy demons. So I don't see any good in that. Second of all, you are an evil lunatic and I want nothing to do with you," she said.

"Then you will rot in this cell," he replied.

"I guess so," she responded.

"Julia, be reasonable," Jonathan said, clearly frustrated. You would get to see your family again, and your friends. You would be preventing a war."

"And be a mother to monsters like yourself? No thanks," she said. "Besides, what makes you think that I'd believe that me joining you would stop a war. You want to replace the Shadowhunters. You want to kill them all off."

"Only the ones who disobey me," Jonathan replied. Julia remained silent.

"What? You're not going to continue to try and convince me that your way of life is right and my vision is wrong like your mother?" he asked.

"You are part demon," Julia spat out. "There is no reasoning with you."

"I think I can be very reasonable," he replied. Julia snorted.

"We'll see how strong you stay when you're little friends arrive and I have them to hold over you. For someone who came here to fight me, you are not putting up a very good fight," Jonathan said.

"Have I not told you that they won't be coming?" Julia asked. She ignored his second statement.

"I think you underestimate the power of love," Jonathan replied.

"And I think you underestimate the power of betrayal," Julia replied.

Curious now, Jonathan said, "And what did you do to betray your friends Julia?"

Julia refused to respond. She back away from the bars and sat down in the back of the cell.

"I grow weary of this conversation as well," Jonathan said. He rested a hand lightly on one of the bars. "But rest assured, my sweet, I will return."

* * *

><p>"How are we possibly going to find the right cave?" Roy asked. He had overslept and almost not made it in time. Everyone seemed glad he had come. They had just arrived outside Idris and headed in on foot. No one responded to his question. "In case you haven't noticed, there are probably twenty caves in Idris," he added.<p>

Jake caught up with him and handed something to him. "It's not technically an object, but a tracking spell should work on it," Jake said. It was the picture of Julia and her parents. He stared at it for a long moment before handing it back to Jake.

"So you're going to see an image of her in a cave. Which all look alike. And that will help us narrow down which cave," Roy replied. "Brilliant."

"It's better than nothing," Jake retorted, dropping back again.

Roy shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and walked in silent brooding.

It took them almost three hours to reach the first cave. After that they began to search the caves one by one. They had spent almost the entire day walking. All Jake could see was that she was in what looked like a cell inside of a cave. They figured it would probably be one of the bigger caves. Unfortunately all the bigger caves were several hours apart from each other. Of the five biggest caves they had visited three. It was getting dark out now and they were all tired. They had to take long roundabout routes to the caves to avoid anywhere other Shadowhunters might be. Fortunately they had encountered no one.

"Maybe we should stop for the night," Roy's dad said. He sounded exhausted.

"There are still two more caves," Jake replied.

"Even if we were to find the right cave tonight, we would be too exhausted to do any kind of extensive fighting. I have a friend nearby I think we can trust. Why don't you all wait here and I will go see about him?"

"Are you sure you can trust him honey?" Roy's mom asked. "We can't really afford to take mistakes right now."

"I'm pretty sure we can," he said.

"I will go with you then," she said. She turned back to Emmett. "Will you look over everyone?" she asked.

"Of course," Emmett replied nodding.

Everyone seemed to take that as a final decision and after Annie plopped herself down on the ground everyone else followed suit and made themselves comfortable.

"We'll be back soon," Roy's parents said, his mom kissing him on the forehead. Roy just nodded and settled himself down next to Emmett. He set up to take a nap, figuring they would be waiting for a while.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, Julia," she heard a voice say. She immediately sat up, forgetting where she was. Her back was sore from sleeping on a hard ground and she stretched her arms out.<p>

"What do you want Jonathan?" she asked.

"I decided I really don't feel like waiting for you to decide," he said, "so I figured I would let you have an hour or so with your parents to catch up a bit before I change your life forever."

Julia pushed herself off the ground and walked to the edge of the cell. "Why?" she asked.

"Why what?" he replied.

"You're heartless. Why would you even give me time with my parents?" she asked.

"I do have some compassion Julia," he said, stepping aside. Her father was standing there holding a knife against her mother's neck. Julia gasped, but her mother did not look concerned. Jonathan made a movement off to the side and the bars opened. For a split second Julia debated making a run for it, but the thought disappeared as soon as it had come.

"Go on in," Jonathan replied, nodding her parents toward the entryway. Julia's father led her mother into the cell, but Julia noticed he was careful not to cut her. Julia stepped aside, letting them enter. "You have one hour," Jonathan said, closing the bars back down before walking down the long hallway, leaving them alone.

The second Jonathan was gone, her father dropped the knife away from her mother's neck. Clary immediately ran toward Julia, wrapping her in a big hug. Jace, on the other hand, stepped back to the opposite end of the cave and leaned against the wall.

"Julia," her mother said, stroking her hair. "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you to mom," she replied. Julia looked over her mother's shoulder at her father. She broke apart from the hug with her mom. "What's wrong dad?" she asked, stepping toward him.

"Don't come near me," he said. Julia paused.

"He's still blaming himself for all this," her mother said.

"Don't," Julia said.

"This is all my fault," her father said.

"It's not," she replied. "I mean it is, but it's not. He has a hold on you, there's nothing you can do."

"You don't understand," he replied.

"Then tell me," she said.

"I can't," he replied, sinking to the ground. It hurt Julia to see him like this. Her tough father, who never backed down from anything and was the toughest person she knew. The one who had taught her twelve languages and how to use every weapon. Her father who had taught her that to bend was to break was sitting on the floor crying. Clary immediately rushed over to him and knelt by his side, but he shrugged away from her.

"What did you do dad?" Julia asked, sensing something was up.

He just shook his head. "We only have an hour," she replied, her voice agitated. "What did you do?"

"Julia," her mother scolded. "Do not talk to your father like that."

He looked at Julia, his golden eyes glazed over. "I let him out," he whispered.

"What?" Julia asked, taking a step back.

"Jonathan," he replied. "I'm the reason he's here. He didn't escape, I let him out."


	21. Findings

**A/N: Soooooo sorry for the delay guys! I left my computer at a friend's a few hours away so this entire thing is written on my Android. Sorry it's a little short too. I'm going to get my computer in a couple of days so then we'll be back on track. Thanks to you guys who reviewed and to everyone who added my story to their alerts :-)**

Julia stared at her father in shock. Her mother was still crouched next to him, but she was no longer trying to comfort him.

"Dad? What do you mean you let him out?" she asked. His golden eyes locked on hers for a moment before he looked away.

"You don't understand," he said, his voice angry. "You don't understand how this thing works!" he shouted, clawing at his shirt. Julia had no idea what to say, and it did not seem like her mom did either. But Jace was not done talking yet. "I tried everything. I tried slicing it and pouring boiling water on it. Even acid. Nothing would destroy it. Magnus tried spell after spell. Even when we banished Sebastian into the abyss, I could feel him there, tugging at me. He never really left. Do you know what it was like? Never knowing when he was going to come back and control me? The night before he came to the manor house I found myself unconscious outside of the place where we kept him. I was never able to find out how I got there in the first place, but he was standing over me. He laughed and told me my job was done there. He told me to return to you."

"That's where you went," Clary whispered. She stood up and began to inch away from Jace.

"Clary," he said, his eyes were closed and he sounded like his heart was breaking.

"Jace, I have stood by you through everything. I've loved you through it all. I could have asked the Angel for anything, but all I wanted was you. All I've ever wanted was you. How could you not tell me?" Clary asked, tears running down her face.

"How could I?" he asked. "How could I tell you that I had no control?"

"Do you have any control over yourself at all?" Clary asked.

"I don't know," he whispered.

Julia watched their exchange in silent shock. She looked back and forth from her mom to her dad. She had always been able to rely on them. Her entire life, they were the ones she could turn to for anything. What were they going to do now? What was _she_ going to do now?

* * *

><p>Roy woke up to the sound of two pots banging against each other. He had been very nervous to go to his father's friend's house. Roy did not really trust anyone anymore, and he had almost thought his parents weren't going to even come back. He heard Emmett groan and roll over next to him. They had spent the night on a hardwood floor. The house was small and only had one extra bedroom. Not that Roy minded sleeping on the floor too much, but it did make his muscles sore.<p>

"Morning Em," he said sleepily to his brother. Emmett just grunted.

A moment later they heard a shout, "Everyone get up!" Mrs. Machion banged on the door of the room they were in. Roy heard Jake from the other side of Emmett groan as well. Then he rolled over and Roy saw him jump up.

"How do you have so much energy?" he asked, still trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.

"We have to find Julia," Jake replied, as if it was the simplest answer. Roy despised him for saying it, as if Jake cared for Julia more than he did. But as Jake exited the room, Roy realized that maybe Jake did not say it to be mean to Roy. Maybe Jake said it because that was really what was on his mind. Even though Julia had lied to him, Jake was going to put every ounce of energy he had into finding her. Because that's how much he loved her. Roy thought back to his actions over the last two days. Yes, he was here, and yes, he was looking for Julia just like everyone else. He loved Julia; there was no doubt about that. But as much as Jake loved Julia? Roy was not so sure anymore.

* * *

><p>Jake had made up his mind. He would go to the ends of the earth for Julia. He would give his life for her. He was not going to stop looking for her. What she had done was wrong. Very wrong. But somewhere inside of him, he felt like she had a reason for doing it. When she had cheated on Roy with him, she looked like she had almost no emotion. Not the night before. That night was filled with passion and quite a bit of emotion. But the next day, all the stereotypes of the Herondale family came out. She was bitter and sarcastic and self-righteous. And even though she showed no emotion when she said it, like she didn't have a care in the world other than herself, it all felt wrong to him. He had known her for a while before she left. Not very long when you think about their lives, but still, long enough. And during that time she could not speak. So he was pretty sure that he had met the real her. And whoever she was that morning, well that was not her.<p>

Jake had barely slept a wink the night before. All he could think about was Julia. So when he finally got up in the morning, he had no idea why Roy was barely moving. Had Julia not been on his mind all night as well? Jake began to wonder if he felt more for Julia than Roy did. Or did Roy really feel that betrayed by Julia? Roy was probably so blinded by his anger for Julia that he did not see that she had done what she did for a reason. Although, Jake was not quite sure what the reason was.

Jake pushed the food on his plate around with his fork. He was silently encouraging Roy and Emmett to get up and move faster. Everyone else was already at the table. Mr. and Mrs. Machion were across the table from him chatting animatedly with Mr. Machion's friends. Jake didn't even know their names, and he didn't really care. Julia was already ahead of them by a day. Who knew what was happening to her? Somewhere within him he knew that she had found Jonathan. He was just hoping she was still alive. He looked to his left to see James staring at him. He knew James could feel his worry through their parabati link.

"You should eat something," James said quietly, looking at Jake's full plate.

"I don't feel like it," Jake replied.

"You can't fight a battle on an empty stomach," James responded.

"Watch me," Jake said, putting his fork down. He felt no desire at all to eat. Just a burning desire to be on the move. The door beyond James opened and Roy and Emmett entered the kitchen.

"Finally," Jake muttered underneath his breath. He knew James could hear him, but he didn't think Roy would. When he looked back up, Roy was shooting daggers at him with his eyes. Jake got up from the table and went out the front door to wait for everyone. He could not take it anymore. He was debating just going off on his own, but he knew that would not be wise.

After what seemed like an eternity, everyone else exited the little house. Jake stood, still facing away from the house and began to walk without even looking back to see if everyone was ready. The sun was just rising. In his opinion, they had wasted too much time already.

It took only an hour to get to the next cave. Jake was more exhausted than he would admit. They had walked almost the entire day the day before. Then he had barely gotten any sleep, and now he was walking again. Plus he had barely eaten anything. But as he stood in the entrance to the cave, Jake had never felt more wide awake. He knew they were at the right cave. The sun had fully entered the sky and it was behind him now, lighting up the entryway.

"This is it," he said to everyone behind him.

"How do you know?" Emmett asked, coming up behind him.

"Can't you feel it?" Jake asked.

Macy walked up on the other side of Emmett. "It feels…evil," she said, shivering a little. Emmett put an arm around her to comfort her.

"This is it then," he said.

They all stood there for a moment, hesitating to enter. Jake gathered his resolve and was about to take a step in when Roy shouted, "Wait!"

"What?" Jake asked, rounding on him.

"Well, don't you think this is a little suspicious?" Roy asked. "We've met no guards, no demons, nothing. It's probably a trap."

"So what're we going to do? Just stand here?" Jake asked.

"No," Roy replied. "I'm just saying…be careful."

Jake nodded and then turned back to the cave. He hesitated just a moment and then stepped inside.

* * *

><p>Julia was sitting with her back to the wall opposite of her father. A million questions and possibilities were going through her brain, but she could not speak. Her mother stood between them, looking back and forth, biting her bottom lip. After several minutes of this, Julia knew they were running out of time. They had to do something.<p>

"Mom," she said. Clary swiveled her head to look at her daughter. "Why did you draw the silencing rune on me?"

"You know that was me?" her mother asked with worry.

"Who else could it have been?" Julia asked.

"Jace said everything would be okay," her mother replied. Clary looked back at Jace. "Were you under his control then?" she asked him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm always under his control," Jace replied.

Clary's face hardened. Suddenly, she set her shoulders and walked over to Jace. "Get up!" she said. "I did not give up on you before and I will not give up on you now. We've been through worse than this. We'll figure something out. We always do."

"Don't, Clary," Jace said, his voice soft. "There's nothing we can do."

"I'll slice it open again so it temporarily disconnects you, and we'll get out of here and figure it out," she said. Julia smiled. That was her mother. She was usually content to stay back and let Jace take control, but when it came time for her to be tough, she could be stronger than Jace.

Jace looked up at her, his eyes sad, but before he could say anything, they heard the sound of footsteps. Jonathan approached the cage, his black eyes gleaming.

"Well, well, well," he said. "This doesn't look like the happy family reunion it should be."

Julia approached the bars. "Why are you doing this to us?" she asked.

"I've explained this before," he said, his voice full of boredom. "Do I really have to go through this again?"

"Just let him go," Julia responded.

Jonathan laughed. "That would be no fun at all," Jonathan said. "I'm thinking we'll have one little contest before I take you for my own Julia," he said when none of them responded.

"What?" she asked, bitterly.

"I want you and your father to fight," he said. After a giant pause he added, "to kill. Do not actually kill each other, of course. Stop yourselves before it gets that far. But fight until someone has the killing advantage."

"What?" Clary asked, spinning around. Jace merely looked down at the ground.

"I won't," Julia replied.

"Then I will have him kill you," Jonathan replied. "I cannot imagine how heart wrenching it would be to kill your own daughter without her even putting up a fight."

"Why do you even want us to fight each other?" she asked.

"You see, determining whether someone is a good Shadowhunter or not has nothing to do with how many demons they kill. Most demons are dumb and stupid and predictable. No, the best way to tell how good a Shadowhunter is, is to have them fight another Shadowhunter. And I want to see which one of you is the best."

"My dad and I have been fighting out whole lives. He trained me. It's not the same as if I was fighting a stranger," she responded.

"You have both changed in the past several months," Jonathan replied. "I think you'll find it a little more difficult than before." He pushed a button and the cage opened up.

"Come on out Clary. You can watch right next to me little sis," he said.

"I'm not moving," she replied angrily.

"Jace," Jonathan said warily.

Jace stood up and grabbed Clary's arm. She flinched but did not pull away. He dragged her out of the cage where Jonathan took her and held her in a grip of steel. Tears were streaming down her face. "Julia," she said. "Slice the rune." That was all she was able to get out before Jonathan put a hand over her mouth, stopping her from speaking. He managed to hold Clary and hit the button that closed the gate. He threw a knife through the bars, and Jace pulled out the one he had brought Clary in using. Julia slowly picked up the knife tossed to her. She looked at her father. He was staring back at her. His face was filled with worry, the lines on his face more prominent than she remembered. He stared at her with sorrow, not wanting to fight her, but unable to resist. But his eyes. Julia searched them, but she found absolutely no emotion in them. His golden eyes were fixed on her, but it was like he wasn't even seeing her.

"Fight," Jonathan said quietly. Julia saw her mother out of the corner of her eye, trying to squirm out of Jonathan's grasp, but he was holding her too tightly. And then the next thing she knew, her own father was attacking her.


	22. Found

Jonathan was right. This fight was very different than the ones she used to have with her father. She ducked under his arm and tried to trip him, but he spun around easily, managing to slice her sleeve open. As far as she could tell it was a very shallow cut. She faced him again and he paused, clearly trying to restrain himself. But as much as he wanted to, he could not. Jace lunged at Julia again, moving at such a speed that if she had been anyone else, other than possibly Jonathan, she would have been struck dead on the spot. She spun out of his way, trying to catch his arm as she did, but he was moving faster than she anticipated. Julia saw her mother struggling out of the corner of her eye and felt a slice on her leg. She mentally reproached herself. She had to focus or this would be bad for both of them. Julia shook her head, clearing out all thoughts of her mother and Jonathan standing outside the cell. She forced away her fears and her worries, her thoughts of Jake and Roy and the rest of her friends. She blocked out the thoughts of defeat that were inching their way into her head and focused. Her father came into her vision clear as day, and with a now free mind, she attacked.

* * *

><p>Roy inched his way into the cave behind everyone else. For some reason they were following Jake. Shouldn't his parents be leading? Roy had no idea why, but when they had set out an hour earlier, Jake became the clear leader. Now, they were following Jake's instincts as he went down one hall after another. Everyone had witchstones out and Roy really did not feel good about this. They should have encountered some resistance by now and they were lighting the way, letting anyone or anything that could be waiting know that they were coming. Roy was just about to say something when he saw everyone in front of him pull out their weapons. Jake immediately put out his light, but Annie and Emmett were slower to react. Roy saw a dark read figure beyond Jake and a moment later the demon was upon Jake. Annie screeched and backed away, bumping into James behind her. James swiftly pulled Annie out of the way and went to the aid of his parabati. Everyone else was trying to get forward to help with the fight. Past the first demon, Roy could see an endless sea of movement. Could those really all be demons? He thought. As Roy moved to make his way forward, someone caught his arm.<p>

It was Emmett. "Come with me," Emmett said.

Roy looked at his brother with shock. "And abandon them? Are you nuts?" he asked.

"No," Emmett said. "To help them. We have to find everyone else. We can't fight all these demons by ourselves."

"Em, we can't leave them," Roy said.

"They can use this hall as a defense to stop a lot of demons from getting through at once. I told mom where we were going. Come on, we have to move quickly," Emmett said, already starting to move back, pulling Roy with him.

For a moment the thought crossed Roy's mind that Emmett was betraying them all, but as he looked back, his eyes locked on his mother's and she nodded to him quickly. That decided it for him. "Let's go," he said, following after Emmett quickly.

After a couple of minutes of running they emerged into one of the caverns they had previously come through. "Emmett, this place is huge," Roy said. "How are we supposed to find the right tunnel?"

"I don't know Roy," Emmett said. "But we have to do something." He looked around at the tunnel entrances and then chose one at random and went down it, leaving Roy to trail behind.

* * *

><p>Jake had never seen so many demons in his life. "We need to fall back," he shouted. "Stay in the hall, that way they can only come at us a couple at a time." He wasn't sure if anyone had heard him. The sounds of clickers and squirters and suctions was almost deafening. It was like there was a sea of demons in front of him. There were definitely hundreds, if not thousands. There were only ten Shadowhunter. Or was it eleven? He could not remember. He ducked under one of the six arms of the oncoming demon and stabbed it from behind. He heard a clicking noise behind him and put up a blocking arm as he turned to face another demon, only to realize that there was not just one in front of him, but one on each side as well. He kicked out to his left while pulling out a seraph blade.<p>

"Israfel," he shouted, swinging it in an arch beheading the demon to his right and slicing into the one in front of him while the one to his left recovered from his kick. Jake easily dispatched those two but they were immediately replaced by more. At this rate the group would not last very long. Jake paused only for a split second, resigning himself to die sometime soon, and then attacked with as much ferocity as he could, determined to take down as many demons as he could before they got him.

* * *

><p>They had been fighting for nearly ten minutes. Julia was so lost in the fight, she had barely registered that her dad had stopped fighting until she heard Sebastian shout, "Stop! Take a break," he said to them. There was someone standing next to him. Julia did not recognize the person. She assumed it was one of the Shadowhunters in Jonathan's service.<p>

"Sir, there's trouble in the west wing," the man said.

"What trouble?" Jonathan asked.

"There's a group of Shadowhunters here. They've come upon the demons, and they are fighting," he responded.

"What is the group like?" Jonathan said.

As the man described the group, Julia could feel the blood drain from her face. Her reaction did not go unnoticed by Jonathan. He grinned maliciously at her, "so I guess you didn't dissuade your friends after all, did you?" he asked.

Julia remained expressionless, and shrugged. "What do I care?"

"They are your friends," Jonathan said. "Sometimes, the bond of friendship is thicker than blood. Is that not right Clary?" he asked, but he was still holding onto her mother, and she could not respond.

"Julia, Jace," Jonathan said, "I suppose we will have to delay this fight a bit. I trust that you two will not kill each other while I'm gone. I'll just take Clary with me as insurance."

He turned around and Julia took the moment advantage to spin toward her father and slice open his shirt. His mouth gaped open but he did not make a sound. Jace looked down at the slice in his shirt in shock and then turned to face away from the bars just as Jonathan turned back around.

"Be good," he said, and turned back and walked down the hallway.

Jace waited until Jonathan was gone and then headed down the hallway. Julia took a step back from him, not sure if she had sliced all the way through the rune or not. He pulled his shirt open. A thin red line of blood was beginning to form. It trailed from several inches above the rune to about an inch below. Julia sighed in relief. Her father stepped toward her and pulled her in a hug.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"It's okay. It's not you," she replied. He nodded, taking a step back from her. He pulled his knife out and held it to his chest.

"What're you doing?" she asked. He put the tip of the knife to the top of the cut she had made. The deeper it is, the longer it takes to heal," he replied, before slicing down the line again.

Julia turned away, not wanting to look. She went to the bars of the cage, trying to see if she could find the button that made the bars open. Her dad did not make a noise behind her, but she did hear his ragged breath as he pulled the knife down his wound.

"So how've you been?" he asked, his voice a little rough.

"I've been surviving," she replied.

"Julia," he said, "what were you talking about earlier when you said your friends wouldn't come to get you? Obviously they're here, but what did you do?" Julia opened her mouth and closed it again. How could she tell her dad what she did?

"I tried to protect them," she responded.

"What did you do?" he asked. She still did not respond. "It's obviously eating away at you honey, so why don't you talk to me."

Julia turned away from him and put her hands up on the bars. "We should be trying to get out of here," she responded. She knew her voice sounded strained.

"Julia," he said behind her, his voice softer. "Talk to me." Julia was about to respond but she could see movement at the end of the hallway. She could feel her father behind her, immediately backing away. He was probably trying to cover the wound and make it look like his shirt wasn't ripped. But as the two people came into closer view, Julia saw that it was not Jonathan and her mother at all.

"Roy?" she questioned softly. "Emmett?" They ran to her when they heard her voice.

"Julia," they both said.

"Dad," Julia said, turning back, "It's okay."

"How do we get you out of here?" Roy asked.

"There's a button off to the side somewhere," Julia replied, pointing. Emmett and Roy immediately rushed over to the side and started searching. After a moment of silence during which her father joined her at the bars, there was a sliding sound and the bars lifted up.

Roy and Emmett both rushed in. Roy drew Julia into a big hug, and then let go almost immediately. "Well, as long as you're okay," he said, backing away awkwardly.

"Roy," she said quietly, but he just looked away.

The next thing she knew, Emmett was pulling her into a hug. "Glad you're okay Julia," he whispered wrapping her into a bear hug.

"Thanks," she responded. "Guys, this is my dad."

"The infamous Jace Herondale," Emmett said, shaking his hand.

Roy merely said, "nice to meet you," as he shook his hand.

"Dad," Julia said, "This is Roy and Emmett. Their parents run the New York Institute."

"Nice to meet you," he replied. "We should probably go join the fight," he added when no one moved.

"We were trying to find everyone who Jonathan took," Emmett said. "Do you know where anyone else is?"

"Some of them are down the next hall to the left of this one," Jace responded.

"We should probably go free them," Emmett responded.

"Why don't you and your brother go, and me and Julia will go join the fight," Jace said.

"We'll meet you there," Emmett replied.

Julia kept trying to make eye contact with Roy but he refused to look her way. Roy and Emmett walked away down the hall, and Julia made to follow them but her father's arm held her back.

"Whatever you did, it has something to do with that boy?" he asked. "Roy?"

"I may have cheated on him with an old boyfriend," she said quietly, avoiding looking at her dad.

"You've had two boyfriends? Have I really been gone that long?" he asked. Julia nodded. "What happened?" he asked.

"Dad, there's a battle going on out there," she said, "we should go."

"This might be my last chance to give you some fatherly advice. Just give me the shorthand version."

Julia sighed. "I went to the school in Idris. I met Jake. We fell in love. Soon after I got my voice back there was a fight at the school. Jonathan was trying to find me. I ran away to New York. I was trading with Downworlders to try and find you guys. Roy and Emmett found me, and convinced me they were on their side because their parents thought something was up. They took me to the Institute and their parents convinced me they were with me. And then one day Jake and some of my other friends showed up. Not too long later, Jonathan got a note to me saying he would keep attacking until I came to him, and if I didn't come alone he would kill all my friends. So I cheated on Roy with Jake, to make them both so mad they wouldn't come after me. And don't give me that look, love destroys people."

"It does not," he replied. "How could you do that to them?"

"To love is to destroy, to be loved is to be the one destroyed," Julia said bitterly, repeating the words he had once told her.

"I did everything I could not to teach you that. That was how I was raised but it's wrong!" Jace responded. "Love saved me. Your mother's love."

"Saved you?" she asked. "Look at what your love has done. It will be the end of all Shadowhunters."

"Love brings only good things honey," he whispered. "What have I done that you do not see that?"

"Your love made you stronger dad. It taught you how to bend, how to be flexible, how to give. But it destroyed everything around you."

"Not everything," he said.

Faintly in the distance they could hear someone shouting their names. _Jace, Julia! Where are you?_ Julia went to go toward the voice but he grabbed her hand. "Do not push those boys away Julia. Love does not destroy, people do."

"Mom's love caused her to sacrifice the fate of the Shadowhunter's for your life. I love you dad, I cannot change that. But is that would you really want? Do you really want the Shadowhunter's to perish while you stand here alive. I know I sound cold and harsh and really I'm glad you're here, but I just don't know…" her voice faltered at the end. She was less sure of herself. Was she really standing here telling her own dad that he should not be alive?

He stared at her for a moment, his golden eyes reflecting sadness. "You're right," he said, sighing. "If I die he dies with me. He cannot be allowed to live."


	23. Fallen

Julia walked through the tunnel with her left hand on the wall. She had only the vaguest sense of direction right now and could not see a thing. She did not want to use a witchlight for fear she would give away her position. Julia crept soundlessly, hoping she was heading in the right direction. Months of not talking had taught her to be silent. Even her breath did not make a sound. The wall on her right was suddenly not under her hand anymore. She could not see a thing in front of her. Julia did not sense anything was there, so she hoped it was safe to pull out her witchlight. Shafts of light spread out from under her fingers, illuminating the cavern in front of her. Third door on her right, her father had told her. She went to the door and then doused her witchlight again, heading down the tunnel.

After walking for almost a half hour, she sensed another open space in front of her. In the distance she heard the sound of a battle. She itched to go join in, but first she had something else to do. First she had to find Magnus and Simon. Her and her father had run into the Lightwoods and Aline when they hurried out of the cage. They said they had seen Roy and Emmett and they were going to let others out. Isabelle, Alec and Aline were going to join the battle. When Alec heard Julia was going to find Magnus, it was difficult for him to let Julia go alone. He fought hard, but in the end relented with the simple logic that one person would be less conspicuous than two. Plus, Julia had argued, If Jonathan discovered her, it was not likely that he would kill her. But there was a very good chance that he would kill Alec. So Julia had left them, and her father behind and went off following her father's instructions after reminding him to slice his wound every so often.

Now here she was, close to where he had told her Magnus and Simon would be. She pulled out her witchlight again, trusting that she did not feel evil around her. "Put that light out," a hoarse voice said to her left.

She shined the light in that direction. His veins were popping and he was very pale; paler than normal for a vampire. But there was no doubt in her mind. It was Simon. Across from him was Magnus, his catlike eyes reflecting the witchlight.

"Oh thank the Angel you guys are okay," she said. She hurried over to Magnus and tried to figure out how to get his chains off. She pulled a bobby pin out of her hair and tried to undo the lock the old fashioned way. After a minute it clicked. She moved onto his other hand, and Magnus slumped down to the floor.

"Thank you," he whispered, rubbing his wrists.

Julia headed over to Simon but he shook his head at her. "Simon, I'm not leaving you here," she said.

"Julia, I will not be able to control myself. I'll feed on you and I won't be able to stop. I'll kill you," he said. His voice was very rough.

"You did it before, you'll make it," she said.

"That was after a week," he said. "It's been months."

"I won't leave you Simon," she replied.

"Come back for me," Simon whispered.

Julia had no choice. She could see him already straining against the bonds, just the smell of her blood was setting him off.

"I don't want to leave," she said quietly.

"Julia," Magnus said, finally standing up behind her. "We should go."

"We can't just leave," she said stubbornly.

"I've seen him when they come to take him. He's killed several of Jonathan's servants when they've come to retrieve him. I think he's right. It's safer if we come back with blood," Magnus reasoned.

Julia looked at Simon, a look of sorrow on her face. She had a brief flash of memories of Simon when she was growing up. Him swinging her around, him tossing her in the air using his extra strength to throw her higher than her father could and him teaching her how to read Manga.

"I'll come back for you," she promised.

He nodded weakly. The last thing she heard before her and Magnus ran out was, "bring blood."

Julia and Magnus ran toward the sound of the battle as fast as they could. "What happened to you and Simon?" she asked as they ran along, "How did they get you?"

"We'll have time for our stories later," Magnus responded. "Right now, I need to know what's going on."

"There's a battle," Julia replied. "Everyone who Jonathan had trapped, my dad, and some friends of mine are fighting. There's an innumerable amount of demons. And Jonathan has my mother."

"I don't know how much help I'll be," Magnus said. He already sounded tired. "They've barely given me food and I'm exhausted from hanging there for months, but I will help however I can," he said. As the sounds of the battle grew closer, the two of them slowed down.

"Do you need a break before we go on?" Julia asked.

Magnus took a deep breath. "No," he said, "let's do this."

* * *

><p>Jake was exhausted. In the back of his mind he noticed that others had joined the battle. He had no idea if they were on the same side as him, or if they were the enemy. He only knew he could not stop fighting or he would die. Suddenly Jake saw a form in front of him. He could not take his concentration away from the fight long enough to see who it was, but whoever the person was the demons were not attacking him. Suddenly the person was in front of him. Jake looked up in the dim light of the cavern and saw a head of brown hair in front of him.<p>

"Dad?" he questioned, almost shouting due to the noise around him. The second his father was in front of him, the demons stopped attacking.

"Jake," his father said. "How are you?"

Jake turned to go back into the wake of demons. He could see James not too far away. They had gotten separated by the hordes of demons, and Jake was relieved to see him still fighting. However, his father grabbed his arm and held on to him. "If you step out there, you will be surrounded again. I have a circle of protection, but it only goes so far," his father said to him.

"I'll take them over you," Jake said bitterly and tried to get away.

"Jake, why can't you see that what we're doing here is good," his father said.

"Do you know exactly what's going on here?" Jake asked, turning back to his father.

"All Jonathan wants to do is weed out the bad Shadowhunters. Some of them have become corrupt over the years. They think their power puts them higher than everyone else. Jonathan is trying to cleanse the Shadowhunters before it's too late. He told me his whole plan," he said, looking down at Jake.

"He lied," Jake responded.

"Jake," his father started, in a tone that he had not used on Jake since he was five. "I think I know a little more about this than you do."

"Dad," Jake said, trying not to raise his voice too much and make his father angry, "Jonathan is trying to kill off all the Shadowhunters so he can breed a new race of Demon-Shadowhunters like himself."

"What a ridiculous idea," his father replied. "I don't know where you heard such things."

Jake did not reply. "Ahhh," his father said, "It was Julia wasn't it?" When will you get in your head that she was lying to you Jake? I told you before; Julia Herondale is not a good person."

That did it for Jake. He wrenched his arm out of his father's grasp, pulled out another seraph blade and threw himself into the mass of demons, saying as he went, "she's ten times the person you'll ever be."

After that, Jake forced all thoughts from his mind again as he tried to get through to James. He had no idea if his dad followed him or left, or was still standing there. He let his mind only touch on two things. One, he loved Julia. Two, his parabati was not far from him and he needed his help. At the same time, a thought was lingering in the back of Jake's mind, waiting to push itself to the forefront: he was tired. Very tired and he did not know how much longer he could hold out.

* * *

><p>Julia and Magnus encountered more demons than Julia had ever seen in her life, and they had not even reached the main battle. She saw a couple of Shadowhunters lying on the ground and wanted to stop to see if they were dead, but she knew she didn't have time. Suddenly, there it was in front of them. The number of demons in front of their eyes overwhelmed them and filled Julia with a feeling of hopelessness. Magnus softly swore next to her. The giant cavern was dimly lit and Julia could see the few Shadowhunters they had fighting with every ounce of energy they had. Something had to be done. Julia sidestepped a demon and stabbed it from behind, sending black ichor squirting out. She turned back to the battle, and across the cavern saw Jonathan standing on a jutting rock, a full body length higher than everyone. He was still holding on to her mother. His gaze was intently fixed on something and she followed his line of sight to see a flash of gold cutting its way through the demons toward him. Julia watched with amazement as her father drew closer and closer to Jonathan.<p>

A voice next to her snapped her back to what was going on in front of her. "Are you ready Julia?" Magnus asked, his voice sounding weary.

"Magnus," she said, "are you okay? I don't know how long you'll be able to last. Maybe you should just stay here."

"I see Alec," he said, not letting his eyes wander from where they were fixed on short black hair off to the left.

Julia looked out and then looked back at Magnus. "Let's do this then," she said, gripping tightly the only weapon she had with her, the knife Jonathan had thrown to her. Julia rushed at the demons, clinging to the knowledge that her dad was fighting with only a knife as well and that he was doing just fine.

* * *

><p>Roy could not see. He had scratches everywhere, he was pretty sure he was poisoned and his arms were killing him. Somehow he found himself with a rock to his back. He thought someone was standing on it and prayed to the Angel that whoever it was did not attack him. When no one did, he reveled in the fact that no demons were going to come at him from behind; at least for the moment.<p>

He spent a minute just blocking shots, trying to refuel himself. He saw golden hair to left and whipped his head around. To his dismay it was not Julia, but her father. He felt a scratch on his arm and turned back to the demons facing him. Roy sighed. He was tired of fighting. Part of him just wanted to drop down his weapons and let the demons engulf him, but despite that thought, he kept fighting. Roy stood with the rock to his back for several more minutes but then he felt someone pull him up from behind.

Suddenly Roy could no longer breathe. Someone had their arm around his neck, cutting off his circulation. He was shifted sideways and he was so exhausted he let them twist him however they were. He felt a sting on his neck and a strong, masculine voice said in his ear, "don't move." Roy curled his fingers up, flipping his knife into hiding underneath his jacket which he was thankfully was still wearing. He hoped that whoever was holding him did not notice. Roy looked out and saw his friends fighting. He also saw a redheaded woman fighting and assumed it to be Julia's mother. He wondered how she had gotten out of Jonathan's grasp. There were nearly fifty other Shadowhunter adults that he did not recognize. Roy felt the man holding him make some kind of a gesture with the arm that was not holding Roy, and suddenly all of the demons stopped fighting.

Then, slowly, the demons began to recede backwards. The giant title wave folded back upon itself like a wake pulling back from the shore. The Shadowhunters stared in shock, unsure what to do. As the demons left, all that was left were several dead Shadowhunter's and a lot of human blood. The demons they had killed had all vanished back to whatever dimensions they had come from. Roy stared out, surprised that there were not more dead Shadowhunters.

As the large cavern cleared of demons, the man holding Roy shouted, "You have fought bravely Shadowhunters. But as you can see, I have more demons than you will ever be able to kill. Join me and you will all be spared."

"Let Roy go," someone shouted. It was Julia. She had been kneeling down by one of the bodies as if checking to see if they were dead. Roy's eyes met hers. She gave him a quick glance before shifting her eyes back to Jonathan. "It's me you want," she said. "Let him go."

"Julia, no," Roy choked through the grip on him. Suddenly Jonathan pulled him forward and jumped off the rock, dragging Roy with him. Even though they were now on the same level, Jonathan still towered over Julia. Everyone else had slowly begun to move toward them. Julia stood fearlessly in front of Jonathan, her golden eyes gleaming with anger.

"Let them all go Jonathan, and you can have me," she said, not looking at Roy.

"I'd rather keep some of them as insurance Julia," Jonathan said, a smirk on his face.

"Let Roy go and we'll discuss this," Julia replied.

Roy could see Jake approaching from the side. He was hoping that his body position was preventing Jonathan from being able to see Jake.

"I don't think so just yet," Jonathan said, but at that moment, Jake had gotten close enough to Jonathan to attack. Jonathan heard the whooshing sound of Jake's movement and threw Roy away from him to defend himself. Roy fell forward, putting his hands out to stop his face from hitting the ground. He pushed himself off the ground immediately, turning back toward Jonathan. Julia had joined the fight now and her and Jake were ferociously fighting against Jonathan. Roy did not know what to do. He had no weapon and had nothing he could use. Suddenly, Julia got shoved away from Jonathan and she fell hard on the ground. Jonathan pushed Jake back and Jake blocked the attack, putting them a couple of steps from where Roy was standing. Roy saw it all in a heartbeat. He saw the opening under Jake's arm, Jonathan beginning to lunge at it, and Jake's eyes locking on Julia's. He saw her heartbroken expression, and Jake's immense love for Julia pouring out just from that one look. In an instant it all hit Roy. He was never supposed to have Julia. She was incredible, probably one of the best people he had ever met. He loved her yes, but they probably should have stayed friends. Her and Jake belonged together. It just all made sense to him. This all took a split second for Roy to register. Before he knew what he was doing, Roy had lunged toward Jake. He had just enough time to see the shocked look on Jake's face before the knife slid into his back. Roy's body went rigid with shock from the pain and he fell to the ground. The last thing he remembered was a scream coming from behind, and the thought that what he did was the right thing.


	24. Over

**A/N: I'm sooooo sorry about the delay! Life kinda got in the way of this chapter. Plus we're getting really close to the end and I don't want it to end :-( Although i do have that other story coming up and I'm falling in love with those characters too :-) Thanks so much to all my readers! Here's the next chapter!**

Julia saw the knife plunging at Jake. As fast as she was, she wasn't fast enough. Just as she reached Jonathan, she saw the knife plunge into Roy. Time seemed to stop for Julia. How had Roy gotten there? Had he been there? She hadn't even noticed him. All she had seen was Jake. How could she not have noticed Roy? And he just got stabbed. She was going to lose him. He had been there for her. Strong and unwavering, only angered by her secrecy…and the fact that she had cheated on him. What was she going to do without him? She watched Jake get flung off to the side. His face mirrored hers in shock when she realized that Roy had just flung Jake out of the way. Why did Roy do that?

Julia watched Roy fall, and acted without thought. She relied solely on instinct as she attacked Jonathan. Julia slashed ferociously at him with the knife in her hand and the seraph blade she had taken from one of the dead. Jonathan was caught off guard only by her first slash. She was able to slice through his shirt on his arm, and watched with satisfaction as blood began to drip down. After that, she got no more blows in for a while. Jonathan was fast. Despite his age, he evenly matched her. In fact, she was sure he was better. For a while she felt as if she was only preventing him from stabbing her, not actually fighting him. She was always on the defensive. Time had ceased to matter to Julia. It could have been one minute or one hour.

Julia slipped suddenly. She put a hand out as she fell, and her hand met something sticky. She looked down to see a red puddle. Jonathan was standing above her, but he did not make a move to attack. Julia looked around. She saw most of the Shadowhunters standing around them. In the front was Jake. He had a strained look on his face like he wanted to attack but something held him back. She figured her and Jonathan had been fighting so furiously that no one could step in to help. She did not see her parents. Then Julia looked to the left. There was a body there. She saw the brown hair, the slight upper build. It was Roy. Everything came rushing back to Julia. She looked up at Jonathan with pure loathing.

He was looking at her smugly. "Julia," he said, reaching his hand out, "let me help you up."

"Rot in hell," Julia replied.

"Julia, Julia," he said, "let's be reasonable. You cannot defeat me. You might as well join me."

Julia looked at Roy again. She saw a slight rise in his chest. He was still alive. She had to get Jonathan out of the way so the other Shadowhunters could get to him and take care of him.

"I could," she replied, pushing herself out of Roy's blood into a standing position. Jonathan made no move.

"Are you sure about this?" Jonathan asked. He was still smiling.

"I will never join you," Julia replied. She could not figure out why he was smiling at her like that. Was he really that confident?

She held herself at the ready, waiting for him to attack, but after a minute she realized he was not going to. She would have to. After making sure she was not going to fall again, and aware that everyone was watching, Julia lunged at Jonathan.

* * *

><p>Jake could not take this. He had just watched Julia fight Jonathan, and he did not want to see it again. There were so many close calls last time. So many times, and he was sure she didn't even notice. He did not know if she would be able to fend Jonathan off again. He was pretty sure she could not defeat him. Jake did not think he would ever meet anyone who could fight as well as Julia. But here she was, completely outmatched. He had heard the stories about how her father had fought Jonathan, and barely won. Jace had said Jonathan almost beat him, but then Clary flashed through his mind and he had managed to overpower Jonathan.<p>

Jake hoped that Julia had enough anger over Roy right now to defeat Jonathan, but he really did not know. Jake watched once more, hoping there would be an opening. He knew the rest of the Shadowhunters behind him had the same thought, but they seemed to be standing back, letting him take the fight. Just as he thought he saw an opening and was about to cut in, he saw Julia's knife heading toward Jonathan's heart. Jake felt jubilated. Julia was about to end it. Then suddenly, the knife stopped. Right before it hit Jonathan's chest. What was going on? Was there some kind of warlock business involved? Why didn't she kill him? There was a lot of blood running off of Jonathan. He looked pale, paler than he usually was. Jake saw that he was holding no weapon and he looked shaken. But at the same time, Jonathan held that smile on his face, as though he knew Julia would not kill him.

* * *

><p>Julia stared at Jonathan in horror, her knife an inch away from his chest.<p>

"I knew you wouldn't kill me," he said, that smile still on his face.

"I forgot," Julia whispered, the knife dropping almost an inch.

"But no. No, you remember," Jonathan replied. Julia looked past him, off to the left. There they were, beyond the group of Shadowhunters, her father laying on her ground with her mother bent over him. At the moment, her mother was staring at Julia. Her face was streaked with tears. Julia lowered the knife.

"That's right Julia," Jonathan said. "You won't kill us." Julia noticed that his mind sounded weak. Suddenly, Jonathan collapsed in front of her. Julia saw the wounds she had cut into him. She crouched down next to him. Her father was going through this pain. What happens to one happens to the other. How could she have forgotten? Even through his pain, Jonathan was smiling at her.

"Save me Julia," he said. His voice was hoarse and he sounded even weaker. He must be losing a lot of blood. Which means her dad was losing a lot of blood. "Save me, and you save him."

Julia stared down at him. She hated him. What was she going to do? He could not live, and yet she could not condemn her dad to death. "Watch him," she said to the group of surrounding Shadowhunters. Julia got up and went over to her mom and dad. She could feel the eyes of the other Shadowhunters on them, but she ignored them. Julia pushed past Isabelle and Alec who were also there and knelt down beside her dad.

"You're stronger," he said. He sounded just as weak as Jonathan. "You're stronger than I was."

"You beat him dad, I didn't," Julia replied.

"You could have," he said.

"I won't be the cause of your death," she said. Julia turned to her mother. "Do you have a stele?" she asked.

"I could heal him," Magnus said, stepping forward.

"No," Jace said. Julia looked back at him.

"I'm going to heal you," she said.

"No," he replied. "He needs to die Julia."

"But Jace," her mother said, "we're not ready to lose you."

"I'm not just letting you die dad," Julia said.

"I love you two very much, but he has to die."

"Jace," Clary replied, tears streaming down her cheeks, "I can't lose you."

"He reached a hand up, wiping away a tear. "I love you so much Clary. Because of you I'm the man I never thought I would be. Take good care of Julia." Then his eyes turned to Julia.

She was fighting to hold back the tears. With her fathers continued acceptance of his death, Julia continued to reject it. This could not be happening. Because of blood loss? She might as well have just stabbed him herself. This was all her fault. "Julia," he whispered. "I don't blame you. I'm proud of you." His voice was fading. Suddenly his golden eyes shifted past hers. "He loves you Ju. Don't push him away." Julia looked back briefly do see Jake standing halfway between Jake and Jonathan, a somber look on his face. She looked back at her dad to see he was looking at her once more. "Love does not destroy. Don't ever think that again. Don't think that. Love. Be loved."

As he finished speaking, his breath began to slow and he closed his eyes. This was the end. Julia reached out for her mom's hand, but it wasn't there. She looked next to her. Her mom was looking at Jace with a tear stained face. Julia could see the love and tenderness there. "He was the only one for me," she whispered as his chest stopped rising and falling. She turned to Julia and her gaze hardened.

"I did everything I had to to keep him here. I saved him from death. How could you do this to me?" Clary stood up as Julia stared at her with shock. "How could you do this?" she shouted and then began to run.

"Mom?" Julia croaked out. She had not expected that. She wanted to shout after her mom but nothing came out. She stared after her, rocking back into a sitting position. Julia put her head down on her knees and cried.

* * *

><p>Julia was numb. She had no idea how long she had been sitting there, her dad's body lying next to her, getting colder by the minute. She was vaguely aware of a comforting hand on her back. She looked at the shoes out of the corner of her eye and recognized them as Emmett's. Her heart fell even more. Not that she did not want Emmett there, but she had hoped it was Jake. She had thought Jake would never forgive her, but he had been looking at her with compassion. As the minutes passed Julia slowly came into awareness. She felt Emmett's hand on her back moving in slow circling comforting motions. She slowly lifted her head. In front of her she could see two groups of people. People were surrounding where Roy's body had fallen. Jonathan's body was gone. She wondered if it was because he was part demon that he had disappeared, or if his body had been carried out.<p>

Emmett seemed to realize that she was slowly coming to and he began to rub her shoulder's.

"It's going to be okay Julia," he said. "It's gonna be okay."

She just shook her head.

"Roy's not dead," he said. Her head snapped around to look at him so fast she was pretty sure she got whiplash. "He lost a lot of blood Julia," he continued, "but he's not dead yet. They're tending to him right now and the Silent Brothers are on their way."

"He's alive?" she whispered.

"Yes," he replied. Emmett stopped rubbing her shoulders and scooted forward to sit next to her.

"What happened to the demons?" she asked, wiping her eyes.

"No one's quite sure. No one knows how he was controlling the demons so well, or where they went or how they disappeared. Some of the Clave has started to show up. There's a full investigation going on right now."

Julia snorted. "The Clave?"

"Yeah," he responded.

"Won't surprise me if they don't find much," she said.

"Not all of them can be corrupt Julia. They'll find something," he said.

"I guess it doesn't matter," she responded. "It's over."

* * *

><p>Jake had no idea what to do. As much as he wanted to go over to Julia, he could not move. And as much as he wanted to go over to Roy, because Roy had saved his life, he still found himself not moving, stuck between the two. He stood there for who knows how long before he realized more people were starting to enter the cave. He recognized a couple as Clave members. Someone must have gone and alerted them. He must have been standing there for hours. It had to have taken a long time before for them to get there. He finally moved, stretching his arms out and realized how still and exhausted they were. He could barely move them. He stretched a bit and then dug around for his stele. Slowly his mind seemed to register the pain. He drew several iratze's and a rune for energy, waiting a minute for it to take effect.<p>

Then he walked over to the group that was starting to form. The Inquisitor was in the middle of the group. Julia had gotten herself up and seemed to be the one responding to everything. Jake pushed his way to the middle.

"How could this have happened?" the Inquisitor was asking, "underneath the nose of the Consul. He's been investigating all these deaths. Where is he by the way?" she asked everyone in general. Julia glanced at Jake. He returned her stare and then looked down.

"We sent him a message and no one responded," someone said. "Maybe he's on his way."

"Has a search party of the caves been started?" the Inquisitor asked.

"Yes," someone else said. "It's a very large place. We're marking the entrance to all the caves with runes so we know what's been searched." The Inquisitor nodded and then her eyes locked on Julia.

"I want to talk to you," the Inquisitor stated. "Alone."


	25. Aftermath

Jake wandered around the big house. He had no idea what to do. They had placed him and some of the others in temporary housing. The Clave had very quickly assessed who was missing and who was dead. They lent the empty houses to those who had nowhere to go. Of course, Jake had somewhere he could go but at that moment his whole family was missing and he didn't want to be in the mansion alone so he begged to stay at one of the houses. He knew a lot of the Shadowhunters that were staying in the mansion he was assigned to, which was larger than his own. There were a lot of kids around his age, and a couple of younger kids. The adults staying there were mostly ones whose houses had burned down and had nowhere else to go.

The Shadowhunters were in chaos. So many people were missing. No one was sure if they were dead, or simply gone somewhere. Furthermore, every Shadowhunter that was of age, and everyone that was at the fight had to be given a trial by the sword. Jake had no idea who to trust, and until he could be sure, he refused to really talk to anyone. He would talk to people, of course, but he refused to get into any real conversation. It had been three days since the fight. He hadn't seen Julia, he hadn't heard about Roy, and he had no idea what was going on. Most of the time he sat in the library, trying very hard to read the books that Julia loved so much.

He just could not get himself to focus. He still had no idea what he would even do if he saw Julia. Would he run at her and sweep her up in his arms and tell her he still loved her, or would he glare at her, all his anger coming to the forefront, and yell at her for what she did? He was completely torn between what his heart was telling him to do and what his brain was telling him. He guessed it didn't matter. He was wandering through the center of Idris now, head down just trying to get some air, and suddenly there she was. Straight down the cobblestone path, she was only about the length of a building away from him. She was staring at a boarded up window, and hadn't noticed him yet.

"Julia," he said quietly, stepping toward her, and she spun to face him, her golden hair flinging into her face.

"Jake," she said, pulling the knotted strands out of her face. Her whole face lit up, bringing with it emotions deep within him he hadn't felt since she had left. "Jake," she said again, stepping toward him. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to find you, but I didn't know if you wanted to see me…"

"I do and I don't," he responded, not sure what he wanted to say. She didn't respond. "What is this place?" he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Just somewhere my dad used to take me. An old friend used to own this shop. I just needed to get out."

Jake nodded. "How've you been?" he asked.

"Okay," she replied. She was painfully close. He wanted to take her into his arms and hold her, but he didn't reach out and she just stood there. He could tell she was too afraid to make any kind of a move, and he wasn't ready to make one. "It was a tough few days with the Inquisitor, but I think she believes me. They still want me to do a trial by the sword though."

"We all have to do a trial by the Sword," Jake replied.

Julia bit her bottom lip. "Jake," she started to say, "I miss you."

"Julia," Jake said, "stop." He realized in that moment that despite the fact that he loved her, what she had done was wrong. Very wrong. And it made him angry that she would do that.

"I was trying to save you guys," she said.

"Save us?" he asked incredulously. "How could you possibly think that would be saving us? You practically ruined both of us."

"I thought it would stop you from coming after me. I thought you would hate me so much you wouldn't look for me." Her eyes were starting to shine with tears and she looked down.

"There are others who care for you Julia. In all honesty, I was all for letting you do whatever you were going to do, and so was Roy. But Jake and Emmett and Mr. and Mrs. Machion would never have let us. Although, Roy almost didn't come with us," he added as an afterthought.

"But you came," she whispered.

"Of course I came. And once I made my decision, noting could stop me. I barely ate, I barely slept. I didn't even want to stop for the night. Once I started looking for you, it was all I wanted to do."

"Then what…what's going to happen to us?" she asked, looking at him once more. Her eyes were still shining with tears but they did not spill over.

"I…I really don't know," he responded, running a hand through his hair. "All I know is that right now, I don't think I can be near you," he said. It hurt him to say it but it was true. He wasn't ready. He needed time to think, to clear his mind and figure this all out. Maybe after the interrogations were done and everything started to settle down. "Besides," he added, "Roy's not dead."

"You don't get it Jake. In that one night, I made my biggest regret, but I also gave myself the one thing I wanted."

"What's that?" he asked.

"You," she replied. "How could you not see that? All I ever wanted was you."

"I…I can't," he said. "I'm sorry." She just nodded.

"I understand," she said softly. Then, she turned and walked away. So this was what it felt like, he thought, to see the one you loved walking away from you. The only problem was he was the reason she was walking away. He made his choice, and now all she could do was leave.

Jake kept walking, his hands in his pockets and his head down. He felt heartbroken. He knew he shouldn't. She had let him decide, but still, he felt hurt. He was already beginning to think he made a mistake. He found himself in front of another house. He wondered if his subconscious had taken him there. It was the house Roy was being kept at. Jake wasn't sure what made him do it, but he walked up the steps and knocked on the door. He only had to wait a moment before the door opened. A middle aged woman stood in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"I was told Roy Machion was being kept here," he said. "I was just wondering if I could see him."

"Are you a family member?" she asked, looking him up and down.

"Just a…a friend." He hesitated to say the word, knowing him and Roy weren't really friends, but how else could he describe it?

"Come on in," she said, opening the door. "What's your name? I'll ask if he wants to see you."

"Jake," he responded, "Jake Fireblade." The woman looked at him again, her eyes widening a bit. He wondered if it was in recognition of his last name or because Roy had told her something. He stood awkwardly in the entryway, waiting for her to return. The place was ornately decorated, as most were. There were two statues of the Angel on each side of the staircase that was straight in front of him. He stared at the beautiful face of the Angel, and wondered what it would be like to meet one. Julia said they didn't really look like that, their mouths weren't like ours, and their wings were like feathers. She said they were beautiful yes, but glorious and deadly. At least, that's what her father had told her.

"Roy said he will see you," the woman said coming back into the entryway.

"Thank you," he said as she led him down a hallway. She took him to the room at the end and opened the door for him. He stepped in ahead of her, and she closed the door softly behind him. He could hear her footsteps receding down the hallway.

Roy was lying in a huge bed in the middle of the room. He looked so uncomfortable in all the pillows and sheets that Jake almost laughed.

"How're you doing?" he asked, approaching the bedside.

"I'm okay," Roy responded, pushing himself up a bit. "I thought this was all a bit much," he said, gesturing at the bed, "but they insisted on it until I was better."

"When will you be better?" Jake asked.

"Probably a couple weeks," Roy said. "I lost a lot of blood, but they said what's really keeping my here is the amount of demon blood I had in my system. All the blood that I had left was tainted. I'm not sure how the Silent Brothers kept me alive, but I will never be able to repay them."

"And I'll never be able to repay you," Jake said.

"Don't mention it," Roy said.

"Too late," Jake replied. "I can never repay you for what you did Roy. You saved my life. I don't know why you did it, but you did. You have no reason to like me and no reason to have done that. If there is ever anything I can do, let me know."

"There's one thing," Roy said.

"Name it," Jake replied.

"Keep Julia happy," Roy said.

"You're not dying Roy," Jake said. "You can keep her happy yourself."

Roy shook his head and coughed a bit. "She's yours Jake."

"No, Roy," Jake said. "She's yours."

"She always wanted you Jake. Don't think I didn't see that. I saved you for her. I didn't expect to live. But now that I am, well, I was kind of hoping we could all be friends."

"Of course we can be friends Roy," Jake said. "But I don't think Julia will ever be mine anyways."

"Why not?" Roy asked.

"I saw her right before I came here. I told her I needed time. I don't know if I can get over what she did to us."

"To us?" Roy asked.

"Well mostly to you," Jake said, "but I'm not okay with what she did. At all. I just can't seem to get past it."

"Jake," Roy said, "you know she was just doing it so we wouldn't follow her right? So that if she died there, we would at least live."

"I know," Jake responded. "She told me that."

"Then get over your damn pride and go find the love of your life," Roy said.

"It's not that simple," Jake said.

"It is," Roy replied. "Now I refuse to get better until you do something about it."

"Is that a threat?" Jake asked.

"Yes," Roy said.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked. He wasn't asking if it was alright that he really forgive Julia for what she did to Roy. He was asking if Roy was really okay with Jake and Julia being together.

Roy nodded and then said, "I'm going to forgive her Jake. You should too."

Jake nodded. "I think I will," he said.

* * *

><p>Julia wandered around a while longer before going back to the house she was staying at. She was miserable, that was, until she opened the door.<p>

"Simon!" she squealed, rushing in immediately. She paused before she hugged him, making sure he looked better. He looked as he always had when she was growing up. "How much blood did you have to drink?" she asked, squeezing her arms around him.

"You don't want to know," he responded.

"How are you Simon?" she asked. "How did they get you with…" she looked up at the mark.

"I went willingly," he said. "It's a long story."

Julia stepped back from him. "Julia, I'm sorry I left you," he said. "But you did great," he added, "I knew you could do it."

"You just left me?" she asked, incredulous. "You promised to help me and then left?" He nodded.

"I understand your mad Julia, but me and Magnus did what we thought was best for our friends. We wanted to see them Julia."

She took another step back. Him and Magnus? "You _and_ Magnus?" she asked, voicing her question.

"You haven't talked to him yet?" Simon asked, his face filling with guilt and horror. "Julia," he said as she rushed past him. "Julia," talk to him before you get mad." She refused to respond, and instead stormed up the stairs. "Julia!" he shouted after her, but he made no move to follow her and she knew he wouldn't.

She flung her door open and locked it, throwing herself onto her bed. Her dad, the one person she had always looked up to, was dead. Her mom, her only family left, refused to talk to her. Jake, the love of her life, wasn't ready to be with her, and she doubted he ever would be. Roy was still really sick and she was sure he didn't want to see her either. And now Simon and Magnus? They had left her when she needed them to be with their loved ones rather than try and save them with her? Who did she have left? As if in response there was a knock on her door. Julia ignored it. The knock was more persistent the second time.

"Go away," she mumbled into her pillow.

"Julia Herondale, you open this door right now and talk to your aunt," the voice shouted from the other side of the door. Julia groaned. It was Isabelle.

"Not in the mood," she replied.

"Julia! You open this door or so help me Angel, I will knock the thing over. And these boots are new, so if I ruin them you will be paying dearly for it."

"Augh," Julia said, pushing herself off the bed. There was just no ignoring Isabelle. She unlocked the door and then threw herself back onto the bed.

"Personally," Isabelle said, opening the door, "I think Clary is being an idiot."

Julia looked up at Isabelle. She had expected the usual _How could you?_ and_ Why would you do that?, _not Isabelle saying her mom was wrong. "Don't look at me like that Julia," Isabelle said. "I was there. It's hard, of course it is, but we are Shadowhunters. Our lives revolve around death. Jace wanted to die. He wanted to protect all of you from this ever happening again. Really if it's anyone's fault, its Clary's to begin with for bringing Jace back from the dead, not telling anyone about it and letting him be influenced by demons."

"You don't hate me?" Julia asked.

"Of course not!" Isabelle replied. "I came here to drag you to come shopping with me! They're throwing a celebration ball tomorrow and I have nothing to wear. And seeing as your mom is kind of mad at me since I gave her a piece of my mind about not disowning her only daughter, I thought you could come." Julia tried to cut in, but Isabelle left no opening. "And it's a good thing I did come because based on the looks of it, you could use a bit of a clean-up yourself. We'll just get you a dress today, and I'm doing your hair. No complaints." She ran a hand through Julia's hair, which hadn't been brushed in a couple of days and shuddered. "Oh! I know," Isabelle jumped up, "I'll invite Magnus. He'll know exactly…"

This time Julia managed to cut her off. "No," she said, "not Magnus. Just you and me okay?" Julia asked. She didn't really want to go, but she knew there was no choice.

Isabelle appraised her quickly and decided not to argue it. "Okay!" she said, clapping her hands. Leave it to Isabelle to be this peppy after her brother died. She was never one to let life get her down. "Let's go!"


	26. Okay

Julia looked down at her dress. Isabelle had outdone herself on it. Julia was sure it was incredibly expensive, but Isabelle wouldn't take no for an answer. Her dress was a blue sheer with gold underneath. The gold was the same color as her eyes. It was a little puffier than she would have liked, but it wasn't too bad. Isabelle had dropped her off with a promise that she would return and Julia had to take a shower before then. So she had taken a shower and thrown on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, waiting for Isabelle. Julia sat in the chair in her room and started to brush her hair. When she was almost done, her door was flung open.

Isabelle stood there, a dress hanging out of her hand. "Ohhhh Julia," she said, rushing into the room, "I looove that dress! It was the perfect choice." She threw hers down on the bed next to Julia's. Isabelle's hair was already done, her black hair done up in elegant curls. "Now," she said, stepping over to Julia and grabbing the brush out of her hand, "what to do with your hair?" She finished brushing it and began to play around with it, slowly drying it as she went.

Isabelle chatted away, without asking Julia any questions, allowing Julia to drift off and let her mind wander. She thought about Jake, and his smile, and how much she missed having his arms around her. Then she thought about Roy and how he was always there for her, and hoped he was doing okay. She thought about Emmett and how he was the only one who would come see her. She thought about Simon and Magnus. They had gone back for Simon, feeding him plenty of blood before releasing him. She was still upset with the two of them but she knew she would forgive them. Then Julia thought about her parents. She thought about her mom, who still refused to see her, and then her thoughts drifted to her dad. She pushed away the dark images of his final moments and instead focused on him as she remembered him. He would always test her, pushing her far past her limits. He would test her wherever possible. She would feel so proud when someone told her she was exactly like her father. Without a doubt, Julia knew she was a daddy's girl.

She was snapped out of her reverie by Isabelle saying her name. "Yeah?" she responded.

"Do you like this?" Isabelle asked. Julia looked at herself, shrugging, and looking away, but then her eyes snapped back to the mirror. After leaving herself in disrepair for the last few days, Julia had already gotten used to her knotted hair, makeup-less face and dreary expression. But Isabelle had not only redeemed the old Julia, she had made her look beautiful.

"What did you do to me Izzy?" she asked, touching her face lightly.

"You don't like it?" Isabelle asked, immediately reaching for Julia's hair.

"No, no," Julia said. "I love it." Her hair was falling in soft giant curls, framing her face perfectly. Somehow Isabelle had taken her round face and given it sharper angles, making Julia look older. Her eyeshadow was the same blue as her dress and made her golden eyes pop.

"Good!" Isabelle said, "Now put on your dress." Julia complied and a minute later she was staring at herself with wonder.

"Isabelle," she said, turning to face Isabelle who was strapping on a thigh sheath under her dress. Isabelle looked up at her.

"Thanks," Julia said.

Isabelle finished adjusting the strap and then smiled at her. "You're welcome." She stretched her hand out to Julia. "Now, let's go make that boy insanely jealous."

* * *

><p>Jake had no desire to go to the ball, but James wouldn't take no for an answer.<p>

"Parabati don't have to be together 24/7," Jake said.

"But I want you there with me," James replied. "Besides, we're the heroes. We're supposed to be there."

"I don't want to be a hero," Jake had mumbled back, but in the end he decided to go in the hopes that Julia would be there. Now he was standing on the edge of the ballroom, staring at the fountain off to the side. He was sure he looked miserable, but he could not get himself to change his expression. Most people took it as him being worried about his family. He was, of course, but he was more worried about whether or not Julia still wanted him. Besides, if he admitted it to himself, he wouldn't be all that happy to see his dad.

"Jake," someone said off to the side of him. Jake looked over. It was Julia. She looked stunning. Her golden hair was falling in waves around her head like rays of sunshine, and her golden eyes were looking at him.

"Hey Julia," he said, his heart fluttering.

"You looked like you could use some company," she said, "although I realize now that I'm standing here that I'm probably not the company you want, so I'll just go…" she started to leave but he grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him. Her mouth was slightly open in shock and her eyes gazed at him with curiosity.

"You're the only company I want," he replied before leaning in and kissing her. She was resistant only for a split second before her lips softened and she kissed him back. It was everything he remembered. There could have been explosions going off all around them and all he would notice was her. She stepped in closer, her body painfully close while he put a hand around her neck to deepen the kiss. He used his other hand to pull her the last inch to him and their bodies melded together like they were one. Her hands were on his back, clinging to him like she was afraid he would drift away. After another minute, he had to pull away, afraid that if he held on any longer, he would start to do things that were inappropriate with this many people around.

She laughed when he pulled away. "Not mad at me anymore?" she asked, a smile on her face.

He drew her into a hug, just wanting to hold her. "No. But if you ever do anything like that again, I may just have to kill you."

"I'd like to see you try," she responded, still laughing softly.

"Dance with me," he whispered in her ear and she nodded.

They spent the night rocking in each other's arms, just talking and catching up. Julia told him about how her mother refused to see her or talk to her, and he told her about how his dad was corrupt and had been on Jonathan's side. Both quietly received the thanks of other Shadowhunters throughout the night, although both tried to insist that they weren't as great as they sounded. Jake didn't care about any of that. He was just glad Julia was in his arms once more.

* * *

><p>Besides the thanks everyone was giving her and Jake, Julia received a lot of condolences over the loss of her dad. A lot of people asked her where her mom was and how she was handling it. Julia gave them vague answers and avoided the topic as much as possible. The last she had seen her mom was yesterday at her dad's funeral. Her mom had stood several paces away from her, her body stiff. She had refused to look at Julia the entire time. Afterwards, when Julia tried to talk to her, her mom had said, "you are not my daughter. My daughter would not have done this." Julia sighed when thinking about it and Jake looked down at her with concern.<p>

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked. Julia nodded, taking his hand and leading him out of the ballroom. They stopped briefly to see James and Annie, and then hurried out before more people could try and talk to them.

They ended up sitting on a bench in the middle of the city, Julia curled up as best she could be in her dress, leaning against Jake who had an arm wrapped around her shoulder. For a long time they just stared up at the sky, both thinking their own thoughts.

"Jake?" Julia asked quietly.

"Yeah?" he responded looking down at her.

"Do you think everything's going to be okay?" she asked.

"Well," he said, "we have no idea who to trust. We have no idea what to do with the Shadowhunters who are corrupt, my family is missing, and a lot of others are dead. Things don't look to bright." Julia slumped down on him a bit, feeling disheartened. "But we have each other. Roy's going to be okay. We have our friends. And life goes on. There are still demons out there to destroy, and eventually things will go back to normal. And I'm pretty sure your mom will talk to you again, I think she just needs time. Overall, I think everything will be okay. And no matter what, you have me." Julia snuggled up closer to Jake and for the rest of the night they sat there together in silence.

-Three months later -

Julia cuddled up close to Jake. They were back at the Institute in New York. The last few months had been some of the hardest she could remember. But they had almost been some of the best.

"My mom finally talked to me today," Julia said, nestling in closer to Jake.

"She did? That's great," he said, starting to stroke her hair. "What'd she say?"

"She said it would take time, but she still loves me. And she doesn't blame me for his death anymore."

"That's good Ju," he said, playing with her hair. "I'm happy for you."

"What's wrong?" she asked, catching the hitch in his voice when he said it.

"They found my family. My dad is claiming that Jonathan had some kind of possession or spell on him. I don't know."

"Jake," Julia said, sitting up, ready to comfort him.

"He wants to see me," Jake continued. Then his face twisted in anger, "I don't want to see him. What he did was wrong."

"Just give it time," Julia said. "Maybe one day you'll want to."

"Doubt it," Jake muttered.

"What about your sister?" she asked.

Jake frowned. "I'll see her," he said. "It doesn't mean I have to see him."

Julia nodded. She knew he just needed time. Besides, his father was still going to be on trial, and it could turn out that he was guilty. Julia did not like him, but he was Jake's dad. She sighed. Everything would probably work out in the end. They would just have to wait and see.

After a minute of silence Jake asked, "so did they ever figure out how Jonathan was controlling those demons? And why they just disappeared?"

"No one's sure," Julia replied. "Probably something that had to do with him being part demon. We'll probably never know."

They were both silent again for a while. "Annie and James seemed really happy when I saw them the other day."

"They are. Probably just as happy as we are," Jake replied, kissing the top of their head. "Did you hear Emmett and Macy are together?"

"Yeah. He told me when we had lunch together yesterday."

"Well," Jake said, sitting up, causing Julia to slip off of him. "I suppose we should go have dinner with Roy."

"I think he said he was bringing some girl," Julia replied, smiling.

"I'm happy for him," Jake said, smiling back. Everything was exactly where it should be. Things were slowly getting put back together, they were all friends, and Julia was his.

"Jake," Julia said, a light smile on her lips.

"Yeah?" he asked, facing her. They were both standing now, ready to go off to dinner.

"I think everything's going to be okay."

"Me too," he replied before leaning down to kiss her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So that's it guys :-( It's over. I hope you enjoyed my story! Thanks so much to all you who reviewed and added me to your alerts. I have another story I'm working on right now that I'll probably start posting soon. I hope you'll read that too! Thanks again everybody!**


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